What I Learned from Nonbelievers Part 2

At a recent Explore God Discussion group believers and nonbelievers had an honest & open discussion about God. The specific topic was: “Why does God allow pain & suffering?” Another thing I learned was that some nonbelievers are perfectly ok with the randomness of suffering. This surprised me as much as anything that was said in the group.

For those of us who believe in God pain and suffering can be confusing & difficult, if not impossible, to fully understand. But, suffering always leads believers to a conversation with God. It is a test of faith, not so much whether or not our faith will survive, but how deep it will go. At times that “conversation” feels rather one-sided. All believers recall times when God felt far away or non-existent. Nevertheless, our faith pushes us to continue seeking, crying out, waiting to hear back, and taking comfort in the promises of God’s Word. We find great solace in the gospel that promises the redemption of our suffering in the end, and God’s good and holy purpose accomplished in it now. The promises are truly comforting, but it’s conversation itself that I need when suffering and disappointment crashes down on me. It is the consolation of having someone who knows how I feel and what I fear and cares and gives me peace beyond understanding.

Nonbelievers appear to need no such conversation. They say, “Suffering just happens.” It’s the way the world works. It’s science. Molecules break down. Natural disasters occur. Is there anything more impersonal and uncaring as science? Chemical reactions and molecules and nature don’t care, can’t possibly care when we suffer. One nonbeliever made the case that it is more tenable to accept the randomness of suffering rather than the alternative, that there is a God so cruel as to cause suffering. I would agree with her premise, if I accepted her concept of God as the cruel cause of suffering.

We believe in the God of love and redemption, not a God of cruelty who takes delight in the suffering of the people he created. We can debate the character of God, whether he is a God of grace and truth who redeems all suffering or not. We can all express our opinions, but in the end he is a God of love or he isn’t. He exists or he doesn’t. If he doesn’t exist or he’s committed to sadistic cruelty, then what hope is there for us when we suffer… really suffer? On the other hand, there is the deepest hope in the God revealed in Christ our Lord. And it isn’t just about heaven or life after death, it’s the conversation now. It’s the presence of God, who in Christ knows suffering personally.

Many years of being a pastor has taught me that even though I cannot “fix” someone’s troubles or stop someone’s suffering there is something about simply showing up. There is something quiet powerful in being with the one hurting. Only God can be fully present and with us in the midst of our most intense suffering, the suffering that ends in death. If there is no God, the final moments of suffering will also be unbearably lonely. Every time I go to the Lord’s Table and eat the bread of Christ and drink from his cup I am reassured that he has been through the shadow of the valley and I will not pass through it alone.