Let's Talk About Pain and Suffering

Life consists of many seasons: birth, growth, education, maturity, work, and death. Feelings and experiences often beyond our control are spread out between those seasons. And it perhaps the desire of all of us to be caught up in endless days of joy, happiness, and gladness because, as they say, a merry heart is a good medicine (Proverbs 17:22). 

But before we dive into the subject of this blog, please understand my intent. I am in no way advocating a shortcut or pie-in-the-sky philosophy that ignores the tremendous pain and suffering that so many are enduring all around us. And I am not lifting the banner that proclaims that we should all be happy and smiling, no matter our circumstances. 

In fact, I believe this belief has been undeniably harmful to the cause of Christ. But since it most likely our lot in life to have seasons of pain, challenges, and suffering, perhaps, it might be a good investment to view this subject from God's perspective. 

Let's start with how pain, as impossible as it might be to understand when drowning in the tragedies of life, can lead to a time of spiritual growth and even blessing.  

The Judgement Seat of Jesus Christ

While talking to some friends the other day, the subject arose about an upcoming event called the Judgement Seat of Jesus Christ. 

When I was young I remember vividly viewing a black-and-white cartoonish religious tract that depicted the Last Judgement as a vast humanity stand before Jesus, in front of a huge screen, while everyone, including the person currently being judged, witnessed all of that person's sins that he or she committed during their life. This imagery caused many a sleepless night as I sought to imagine, even at my relative innocent age, all my transgressions being broadcast for everyone to see!

Thankfully, that scene is nowhere to be found in the Bible. But there was an element of truth to that belief that it took many years for me to come to terms with. Let's take a closer look at what I believe the Bible teaches about this particular judgement from God. 

"Lord, make me pure, but not yet!" – Augustine

St Augustine's battle with chastity is as inspirational as it is well-known. For many years he struggled to change his life, while at the same time being so completely chained to his sin that he was unable to make the changes necessary. I encourage you to read on and learn how to overcome the persistent sins in your own life by following his example.

“Lord, make me pure, but not yet!” This infamous prayer of the young Augustine of Hippo (354-430) reflects the inner conflict of any soul who recognises the virtuous thing to do, yet fears the demanding struggle against human urges and passions. In his Confessions, St Augustine was not afraid to admit his utter powerlessness in the face of sexual temptation. As a young man, he had given in to the attraction of sexual pleasure and took a lover whom he would never marry but who bore him his only son, Adeodatus. He was brutally honest about why he chose to live with this woman: “I had chosen her for no special reason but that my restless passions had alighted on her”. 

When Augustine abandoned the Catholic faith of his youth, much to the anxiety and dismay of his mother, St Monica, he never ceased to search for truth, even if his search led him down a few blind alleys. This search was hampered not just by his lack of understanding but by the power of the favorite sin which blinded him. His conversion was delayed because his sin enslaved him and prevented him from surrendering to the truth of the Catholic faith which would, in turn, have meant the abandonment of his old sinful lifestyle. He wrote: “I was bound down by this disease of the flesh. Its deadly pleasures were a chain that I dragged along with me, yet I was afraid to be freed from it”. His friend, the chaste Alypius, tried to talk good sense into Augustine. However, vice is contagious, and curiosity together with Augustine’s ideas began to lead Alypius astray: “For my part, I was a prisoner of habit, suffering cruel torments through trying to satisfy a lust that could never be sated: while Alypius was being led by curiosity into a like state of captivity”.

"I Am"

"So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I Am He. I do nothing on my own but say only what the Father taught me." John 8:28

This is the word that Jesus pronounced at the end of an argument with his religious opponents. He no longer says, “I Am” this or that: the bread of life, the light of the world, the resurrection and the life, and so on. He simply says “I Am” without further clarification. This gives his declaration an absolute, foundational truth that is beyond reproach. I believe that Jesus is intentionally recalling the word of Exodus 3:14 and Isaiah 43:10-12, in which God proclaims his divine “I Am”.

There is also the aspect that Jesus being crucified is necessary to us understanding His Divinity. It is a required step toward the revelation of Jesus being awarded the authority over all things by God the Father. The name of Jesus is the name above all names, never to take a backseat to any of our "created gods" or any created being who exists anywhere in the universe.