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frederickwiddowson · 6 years ago

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Why Do the Innocent Suffer? - sermon notes revised

We believe that nothing happens, no reality, no action of any kind, that God doesn’t either cause to happen or permit, allow, to happen. He is absolute sovereign over the universe and all that is. Therefore, there is no war between God and Satan, as if they were two opposing Gods, one good and one bad. The book of Job and elsewhere teaches us that Satan, who hates mankind and slanders Christians daily, can do nothing without God’s permission and within the limitations he is given.

If that is the case and the God who created us is a loving God, a God who loved mankind so much He paid the penalty for our wickedness against Him on the cross and rose from the dead to legally justify us before Him, paying a ransom to His own self for us, and satisfying all requirements for the payment of our sin debt, then why does He allow children to starve to death or be sexually abused? Why would He permit the Sewol ferry full of teachers and teenagers on a field trip in South Korea in 2014 sink with 300 lost? Why would he let a mentally challenged person in a nursing home be abused? We know why bad things can happen to good people. Just read Job.

We know that being a good person by Protestant Baptist standards; faithful church attendance, tithing, Bible reading, and praying often does not guarantee you a life without sickness or sorrow, or even a painless death. The book of Job makes it clear that bad things happen to good people without them knowing specifically why or even being told in this life and we are called to simply trust God.

Remember also that God verbally condemned Job’s friends for misrepresenting Him by assuming that there was a direct cause and effect; that Job must have been being punished for some secret sins for such bad things to happen to him. We are often guilty of that, like saying someone got cancer because we just know they balked at God’s call to be a missionary. God eliminated such pagan rubbish-thinking in the book of Job. You really don’t know why a lot of things happen and God makes it clear you won’t, at least in this life.

But, why do they happen to people who are without any understanding of what is happening to them and who weren’t even capable of doing anything to deserve their fate? I know, I know, the angry, mean fundamentalist turns red and shakes his fist and shouts, “They’re all sinners! They deserve it!” But, for us sane people who are not filled with hate and contempt for humanity but have God’s love for the lost and for many of the people who need you to share your faith with them this is a legitimate problem.

It’s not the problem of suffering, per se. It’s the problem of the clueless, the hapless, the innocent, the helpless suffering horribly for no apparent reason other than someone’s wickedness or a seemingly random accident. You will be asked that and someone will say that is the reason they cannot believe in God. Either He’s weak, as far as they are concerned, or He’s evil, or maybe He just doesn’t exist.

The author, Thornton Wilder once wrote a book, in 1927, entitled The Bridge of San Luis Rey. In that fictional book several people die when an Inca rope bridge collapses somewhere in Peru. A priest witnesses it and goes on a search to try to understand the purpose of God bringing these strangers together to die. He’s looking for a reason. Why did they have to die?

But, there is no reason. You see Wilder believed that there is no purpose in life beyond your own will. There was no greater meaning to anything, in Wilder’s mind.

The Bible has a few examples of the suffering and death of the innocent and not-so-innocent but clueless nonetheless. There is a child that God takes home because He sees some good in him and rather than let him be raised by evil people God just takes him.

1Kings 14:12 Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. 13 And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.

Other children and pregnant mothers are killed mercilessly by enemies.

2Kings 15:16 Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and the coasts thereof from Tirzah: because they opened not to him, therefore he smote it; and all the women therein that were with child he ripped up.

Children are killed by bears as part of the fulfillment of a prophecy said fulfillment being prompted by their mocking of God’s prophet.

First, the prophecy;

Leviticus 26:21 And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. 22 I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate.

Then, the fulfillment;

2Kings 2:23 And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. 24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.

And then Jesus Himself made remark about some men who had been murdered by the Roman governor and some more who had died in an accident as being no worse than the men he was talking to at the time, who thought themselves good.

Luke 13:1 ¶ There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? 3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

To some unbelievers, none of this makes any sense, if there truly is a loving God. Nor does it make sense to many Christians.

The person whose son was murdered working late at night and trying to get home demands, “Why did my child die doing what he was supposed to be doing? He was good. He was loved. This makes no sense. He didn’t deserve that in any way, shape, or form. It was such a waste of a good life.”

But, there are a couple of things we must lay down as a foundation before we can proceed.

First, without belief in the resurrection then none of it makes any sense and the God of any religion becomes a twisted monster. But, we’ve been promised repeatedly that there will be a resurrection. And not just some kind of spiritual resurrection but a resurrection of our bodies.

In what may have been the first book of the Bible that was actually written down sometime closer to 2000BC than any other book in its writing we have the book of Job.

Job 19:25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: 26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: 27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins [that’s your insides, your internal organs] be consumed within me.

Jump ahead a thousand years to the time of Isaiah, the prophet.

Isaiah 26:19 Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

Again, jump ahead two to three hundred years to the time of the Persian and Mede emperors ruling over Babylon, and Daniel.

Daniel 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Then, you know that the New Testament is filled to overflowing with talk of eternal life and resurrections.

John 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

Romans 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

Revelation 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Another thing we have to understand is that God’s mercy is preeminent. It is very important to Him. It is an attribute of God that is revealed all through the Bible.

Psalm 89:14 Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.

Psalm 101:1 « A Psalm of David. » I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing.

But, remember;

James 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

And we must see that God’s focus is on eternity, time without end.

Isaiah 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

Exodus 15:18 The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.

Revelation 4:10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

Psalm 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

That’s where our focus should be as well. That is how we should be thinking as Christians.

Matthew 6:19 ¶ Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

1Peter 1:3 ¶ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

We also know that the world is under judgment because of our first parents’ sin.

Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Romans 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

The only way out of this mess is by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was God in the flesh, who walked among men, the only time that happened in a human body, in other words, the only-begotten Son of God, not Alexander the Great who had himself declared the son of God in Egypt or Augustus Caesar who signed his decrees as the son of God.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Of course, the skeptics dismiss the resurrection and eternal life as so much, “pie-in-the-sky” hopeful thinking, mostly because the thought of a God who judges sickened them because of their life’s choices as in the case of the previously mentioned Thornton Wilder.

But, being of a sounder mind we can see the brilliance of God’s plan, at least in part.

In the Bible several times a man of God complains about how, in this life, things make no sense because the wicked seem to get away with everything. As an example, Jeremiah wrote;

Jeremiah 12:1 Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?

We see something else about the wicked in the Bible that is important to this study. Just as the earth has been drying out since the Flood of Noah so sin is revealed until it is fulfilled and receives God’s judgment. Note here what God said to Abraham.

Genesis 15:12 ¶ And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. 13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

The child-sacrificing, temple prostitute-patronizing, bestiality practicing Canaanites were to have their way until there was some kind of tipping point, some kind of rim of the bucket over which their iniquity would spill when that bucket was full. God was waiting on the full expression of their wickedness, the point at which He would drop the hammer on them.

The book of Revelation, at the end of the Bible, has an interesting name. Something is revealed, the lid is taken off the boiling pot, the end of human-centered history, when things have gotten to the point beyond which God will not let them proceed, takes place. It gets really bad. As Christ said in reference to the end, as noted by Mark;

Mark 13:20 And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.

So, just as the earth has been drying out since the Flood so has man’s iniquity added to iniquity has been proceeding since Adam and Eve disobeyed God.

Romans 1:16 ¶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

19 ¶ Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

There are two things going on here. In a single person’s life God will let things happen, let you do things, although sometimes He does prevent you as He has done me on several occasions, do things that give you bad consequences. Preachers say that sin will take you further than you want to go, make you stay longer than you want to stay, and force you to pay more than you want to pay. We know, from reality, that at some point it’s all going to come crashing down on us if we persist in sin. But, we don’t know when God is going to call in our debts and expose our wickedness, do we?

In the life of humanity in general, in this fallen world under judgment because of man’s sin there is a great deal of suffering. Richard Dawkins, a militant atheist, has written about it this way in his disbelief in any purpose to life. In reference to the animal world he wrote;

The total amount of suffering per year in the natural world is beyond all decent contemplation. During the minute that it takes me to compose this sentence, thousands of animals are being eaten alive; others are running for their lives, whimpering with fear, others are slowly being devoured from within by rasping parasites; thousands of all kinds are dying of starvation, thirst and disease. It must be so. If there ever is a time of plenty, this very fact will automatically lead to an increase in the population until the natural state of starvation and misery is restored….In a universe of blind physical forces and genetic replication, some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky, and you won't find any rhyme or reason in it, nor any justice. The universe that we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference. (1)

History shows us a swirling mass of humanity, selfish emotions, greed, exploitation, murder, rape, and abuse. History is the story of man’s crimes (and I’m using the word man for men and women) History is the record of man’s crimes against God, against his fellow man on an individual basis and on a group basis, and against nature. This boiling pot of iniquity is going to seethe and bubble like the proverbial witch’s cauldron until the time comes for God to completely take over from mankind. History, as we know it, human-centered, will cease and God will be present again as He was in the first century but this time as a sort of military dictator, allowing no more nonsense from humanity.

Psalm 2:9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

Revelation 2:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

Revelation 12:5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

Revelation 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

(1) Richard Dawkins, River out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life (New York: Basic Books, 1995), 154-155.

Regarding the state of affairs now, things are building up to an appointed time and end.

Matthew 18:7 Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!

This is our reality until the Lord’s return. Great evil, calamity, disaster, accidents, pain, suffering, and grief. This is part of the judgment on the world because of man’s sin. It is building up to an appointed time, which we do not know as yet. It’s not just a general idea for discussion in polite company. This suffering has real faces, broken bodies, and shattered dreams. It has anguish, tears, and much grief and sorrow.

We are reminded of this general judgment each day as we drive around using fossil fuels, the remains of life before the Great Flood of Noah. We are reminded of the current judgment we are under when we watch a loved one die, hear of the abuse of a child, a fire that kills an entire family, or even see a dead animal on the side of the road.

President Lincoln said that God wasn’t on either side in the American Civil War. He declared that the war was a judgment on both sides.

We’ve resolved now why the suffering of innocents happens in a world under judgment racing toward its end, toward the fulfillment of its iniquity, its sin, and its evil. We know that all of these questions will be answered in eternity. As God suggests in Job to us, ‘Bad things happen for no reasons you will know in this life. Trust me, though. I have it under control.’ Our real question, the one that involves us and which we must answer, is how are we, as Christians, to respond to this judgment and its consequences.

We talk about our rights to express our religious faith in this country. We scream and rant and cry that the “gubmint” is trying to keep us from worshipping God. But, the Holy Spirit tells us;

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

A famous atheist of the 19th century said to us, if I may paraphrase, “Your actions are speaking so loudly I can’t hear what you’re saying.”

It has become increasingly common, since the early 1900s, for premillennial, fundamentalist Christians to throw their hands up and say there is no point to trying to make the world a better place. After all, you’re only redecorating the waiting room to Hell. But, we are called to fight evil. We are called to help others weaker than ourselves. We are called to do good to others.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

1Timothy 5:10 Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.

Yes, it is good to fight a strip club attempting to open up in your neighborhood, to fight the heartless act of abortion, to see that those who are helpless are fed, clothed, housed, to see that elderly people have heat, food, and shelter or to support a children’s hospital or to insist on stronger laws against child abuse and neglect. It is good to do good. Righting a wrong, or demanding that government right a wrong with its power, is a good thing, a useful thing, an opportunity to show, to reveal who you belong to. It is only pointless if Christ is not in it if you are just offering someone a temporary respite but being silent about an eternity of suffering that awaits them if they don’t walk away from the world and trust Christ.

Terrible stuff happens in this world and will continue to happen until the end. Innocent children and helpless adults will suffer horribly. First, in our individual lives our wicked choices will be permitted until our time has come and God visits us for our iniquity. So, if you are refusing to forgive your family, stealing from your employer, cheating on your spouse, being proud and self-righteous, trying to control other people, or holding any one of the myriad of attitudes in your heart that symbolize fallen humanity, your time is coming. You just don’t control when that will be. You may be under judgment right now and not realizing it as you cry the blues for being wronged by a family member or a stranger.

Second, in a world under judgment things seem careening out of control in every generation as human beings seem to be stumbling about in a darkened room. Spiritual beings and earthly beings with evil intent and wicked motives spend a great deal of their energy doing bad stuff, as we see in Job. God allows it and will allow it until the appointed time. Planes will crash, boats will sink, criminals will go about their business, and other accidents will happen and you might not have a clue as to why no matter how much you proclaim you do.

Third, these awful things will continue to happen without your knowledge of any immediate cause and effect in many cases in spite of your pretense of knowing, in your superior spirituality, why God is permitting or doing something.

Fourth, our response is to be one of mercy, extending God’s grace to those in desperate need, those who have suffered and are suffering, helping the helpless, and comforting each other.

2Corinthians 1:3 ¶ Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

Fifth, we need God’s mercy and should be praying for it for ourselves and for others. It is not that God is somewhere far off and doesn’t know these things are happening. Nothing can happen that He doesn’t either allow to happen or cause to happen.

Here are two versions of the same prayer that Jesus gave His followers. Bear with me as I need to set this up. Modern Christians are not in the practice of cross-referencing the Bible for meaning as they’ve been taught to go outside of the Bible, to Webster’s 1828 dictionary or to the opinion of some notable Christian celebrity for meaning, which is fine, but sometimes misleading.

Note, for purposes of understanding, that a temptation is a test in the Bible, a trial, a difficulty, or a provocation (comparing Genesis 22:1 with Hebrews 11:17; then look at Psalm 95:8; Hebrews 3:9) even as Paul referred to in the case of his eyes as sickness or disability. (Galatians 4:14). The only reason I can think of for Pope Francis thinking that this prayer suggested that God tempted us with sin is his lack of reading comprehension, inability to cross-reference meaning, or just the bad translations the Vatican uses. God doesn’t tempt His people for the purpose of making them fall like Satan does. Notice in the following our minds fill in, “with evil,” after neither tempteth he any man as that is the meaning of the verse.

James 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

Evil is calamity, distress, disaster, and trouble or malice and intent to do violence or hurt in some way. (Genesis 37:20; Isaiah 45:7; Matthew 6:34; Ephesians 4:31; 1Thessalonians 5:22).

So, here are the prayers given to Jesus’ followers at different times and under different circumstances but given as models for us to pray from.

Matthew 6:9 ¶ After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,

for ever. Amen. 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Luke 11:1 ¶ And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. 2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

We NEED to pray each day that God NOT lead us into trials, testing, or struggles and that He deliver us from trouble and grief and suffering.

We NEED to pray for mercy, for ourselves and for others. We desperately need God’s mercy and those who are suffering and have suffered need God’s comfort which we should be willing to provide as He has done for us, to forgive those who sin against us as well as He has forgiven us so much more.

We NEED to trust God, that He will straighten things out in His time, and that we might not know when that time is until it happens.

John 16:4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.

Suffering, like death, is one of the most commonplace things living things encounter. It is almost inevitable. It is visited upon the innocent and the guilty alike. It is permitted to happen as part of the judgment on our lives but it is also allowed to happen because of the judgment on this world. Many bad things and awful circumstances seem like they have no reason, no purpose, no justification. Evil people get away with things it seems and accidents, unintended consequences of a lack of prudence or diligence in safety or preparation, or even for no apparent reason at all, happen all the time. Unless doctors drug you up or you die instantly in an accident or from a sudden medical event you can die in agony. Children will suffer at the hands of wicked people and mentally handicapped people and the elderly will suffer neglect and abuse.

We must fight wickedness whenever we encounter it. We must offer God’s comfort to those who are suffering. We have to accept that there are many occasions when we just won’t know why a thing happens. But, we must trust God, that His mercy, His grace will prevail in eternity. It is the essence of our faith, to trust God that He is good and that He is in control. Our place isn’t always to trumpet that we know why a thing happens. We are simply told;

Romans 12:15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

And always remember;

Matthew 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Don’t dismiss the question of why an innocent person suffered when asked. Weep with those who weep. Remember what James wrote about someone else’s need.

James 2:14 ¶ What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

It will end, even sooner than you think it will. And when it does man will know that there was no good thing in his sin-corrupted soul that God did not put there in spite of him.

Why do the innocent suffer? Because we live in a wicked and fallen world that, because of man’s sin and his sin nature, will continue its horror, its crimes, its seemingly random so-called accidents until God puts an end to it. In the meantime we are to trust God, to tell others about the salvation that is offered only through Christ, to show God’s mercy on the suffering, the helpless, and the weak, in other words, to do right, and to not only do it ourselves but demand that those with real, physical power in this world do right by the suffering, the helpless, and the weak. The world needs God’s salvation and His mercy. A suffering or abused innocent one needs your kindness, your love, and your real, physical help in Christ’s name.

Remember, your response to your own suffering and to the suffering of others if you have walked with and experienced the comfort and joy that Christ wants to provide you.

This is our answer to suffering, suffering that is real, horrible, and constant in this world. The real question isn’t why the reality of suffering happens but what are you going to do about it with Christ’s Spirit dwelling in you.

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