I often want to be able to solve a problem quickly. That's fine when it comes to DIY or even a simple admin job, but it is awful, destructive, and sinful when applied to people. Part of the problem I think is absorbed from our culture of the quick fix, the instant remedy. Part of it comes from wanting to remove pain and discomfort from the lives of those I care about. Another part of it comes from wanting to be thought well of, wanting to be 'successful' in pastoring people, maybe even having something to dow with measurable goals or feeling like a job is finished. And yet the Bible does not give us a steady stream of pat answers to life's problems and pains. The Bible is not ordered or indexed or searchable in a way that enables us to look up 'd' for depression, 'a' for anxiety, or 's' for solution and we ought to be grateful for that. Rather what we see is people walking with others through the story of their lives.
Quick answers, half thought through theology, hastily spoken misapplied doctrine is dangerous. Just think of Job's friends. They begin well, they sit and observe Job in silence but the problem comes when they speak and provide answers that are half thought through, received tradition misapplied to Job and his situation. It would have been better if they had kept silent. Or think of Nehemiah, he hears of a problem, he cares deeply about a problem, he is moved to help and literally moved to care for God's people, but he takes time to pray it through. Even when he goes to Jerusalem he takes time to survey the walls and the people and live alongside them as he leads them to build first the walls and then a community with God at the centre within the walls.
There is a lot for us to learn from the Bible's walking with rather than talking at approach. Think of the difference walking with gospel hope alongside a friend struggling with depression and anxiety would make rather than taking at them with quick answers about a situation we have not experienced or whose complexities and pain we don to fully understand. Think of the difference walking with would make in any given situation of suffering you or those in your church family are facing; childlessness, infertility, loss, grief, unemployment, infirmity, disability and so on. That is what Jesus did when he became man, he walked with us through suffering, he wept alongside Martha and Mary, he loved and lost and yet brought hope, it's no accident that we find him in the next chapter in their home again. He walked with them and talked of hope and salvation as he walked.
Offering quick advice is easier but it is not more productive. Walking with is longer term, it is harder work, it takes more commitment, and is more painful but it is what we are called to because it is what Jesus has done for us.
Showing posts with label suffering. Show all posts
Showing posts with label suffering. Show all posts
Wednesday, 22 June 2016
Tuesday, 14 April 2015
The seen and unseen reality of church on Sunday morning
Often when you walk into church on a Sunday morning everyone else looks to have it together. People are there, they look well presented (whether that means shirt and tie, smart casual, or everyday attire is irrelevant). It can intimidating to walk into church if you feel that's not you. If the week has been hard, your heart is breaking, broken, or seemingly shattered beyond repair. If your marriage is creaking, illness and problem seem to beset everyone around you, work is frustrating on a good day, and the kids seem to be living in open revolt.
But there is an unseen reality that we need to recognise that is present in what we see. Each of those people who have come to church, to meet with their church family, to hear from God, to sing his praise - or just to listen to others sing if that feels too raw - has come from a world you cannot see as you look at them on a Sunday morning. They are not hiding it, they haven't put on a mask of happiness, its not a fake, it is that they are determined to meet together because they know they need to.
As we get to know one another we begin to see the unseen reality of Sunday morning that you can't know by just taking a cursory, surface glance at those around you. As we get to know one another we come to see the story of each and every family. Each affected by the brokenness of the world, each life impacted by the deceitfulness and destructiveness of sin. It's there is the couple longing for a child but struggling to conceive but who still smile and welcome each and every child they meet in church. You don't see it but as you get to know their unseen story you see the grace at work in that welcome. It's there is the person who is terminally ill but comes week by week without many in the church family even realising how ill they are, who cheerfully takes part, laps up the Bible teaching, and encourages others. It's there in the person whose extended family is in ruins and who lives with the brokenness and pain of that everyday, dealing with the crises that come up week by week, but who can rejoice in another's joy on a Sunday morning by grace.
One of the problems of suffering is that it can curve us inwards on ourselves. The antidote is to get to know those around us, to learn to see the unseen story of grace woven into the life of every person who makes it to church on Sunday. Everyone living with a present experience of the reality of living in a broken world yet knowing that God by grace is gradually writing their story for his glory, as they live trusting in his loving Fatherly care.
But there is an unseen reality that we need to recognise that is present in what we see. Each of those people who have come to church, to meet with their church family, to hear from God, to sing his praise - or just to listen to others sing if that feels too raw - has come from a world you cannot see as you look at them on a Sunday morning. They are not hiding it, they haven't put on a mask of happiness, its not a fake, it is that they are determined to meet together because they know they need to.
As we get to know one another we begin to see the unseen reality of Sunday morning that you can't know by just taking a cursory, surface glance at those around you. As we get to know one another we come to see the story of each and every family. Each affected by the brokenness of the world, each life impacted by the deceitfulness and destructiveness of sin. It's there is the couple longing for a child but struggling to conceive but who still smile and welcome each and every child they meet in church. You don't see it but as you get to know their unseen story you see the grace at work in that welcome. It's there is the person who is terminally ill but comes week by week without many in the church family even realising how ill they are, who cheerfully takes part, laps up the Bible teaching, and encourages others. It's there in the person whose extended family is in ruins and who lives with the brokenness and pain of that everyday, dealing with the crises that come up week by week, but who can rejoice in another's joy on a Sunday morning by grace.
One of the problems of suffering is that it can curve us inwards on ourselves. The antidote is to get to know those around us, to learn to see the unseen story of grace woven into the life of every person who makes it to church on Sunday. Everyone living with a present experience of the reality of living in a broken world yet knowing that God by grace is gradually writing their story for his glory, as they live trusting in his loving Fatherly care.
Monday, 30 March 2015
Why is there so much pain and suffering in our world?
That isn’t an intellectual question is it? It’s not a question we ask ourselves dispassionately and nor should we. It’s a question we ask in the crucible of suffering; when we hear news of a national disaster like this weeks air crash, a terrorist attack or other natural disaster. But it’s also the question that ambushes each and everyone of us when we hear words we never want or expected to hear in the consulting room, or in the phone call telling us of the loss of a loved one, or as we simply live life amidst the rubble of our broken world.
This question is the most painful one we can ask, it gets to the heart of who we are, how we feel, it unmasks our shattered hopes and dreams, our losses and grief. The great news is that the bible isn’t cold and clinical in its answer, we don’t find a chapter on suffering that dispassionately tells us ‘why?’ Instead we find the answer woven into the stories of God’s suffering people living in a suffering world, and most amazingly of all how it all leads to a suffering God redeeming a suffering world. As we walk through some of what the bible teaches on suffering, and this is by no means everything the bible says about it, we’re going to ask three questions: Why is there so much suffering? What has God done about it? And what difference does it make?
Why is there so much suffering in our world?
This question is the most painful one we can ask, it gets to the heart of who we are, how we feel, it unmasks our shattered hopes and dreams, our losses and grief. The great news is that the bible isn’t cold and clinical in its answer, we don’t find a chapter on suffering that dispassionately tells us ‘why?’ Instead we find the answer woven into the stories of God’s suffering people living in a suffering world, and most amazingly of all how it all leads to a suffering God redeeming a suffering world. As we walk through some of what the bible teaches on suffering, and this is by no means everything the bible says about it, we’re going to ask three questions: Why is there so much suffering? What has God done about it? And what difference does it make?
Why is there so much suffering in our world?
It’s a question everyone of us has to answer because all of us experiences suffering. It’s an inevitability of life. Why we think it is there will determine how we face it and live in and through it.
When you take something back to a shop the customer service advisor asks you what’s wrong with the product. What they’re actually trying to work out is; is it broken because of a manufacturing fault or because of misuse by the owner? You can take your iPad back if it is broken because the on button or speakers won’t work, but not if it’s broken because you decided to clean it by putting it through your dishwasher.
That question: ‘manufacturing fault or owner misuse?’ is a helpful one to ask when we think about suffering in the world. The book of Genesis opens by describing the universe God made. It’s beautiful and bountiful. God looks at it and declares that it’s “very good”. That doesn’t mean that if God were doing a survey, like we do rating our holiday destination, that God would give it 7/10. It doesn’t mean could be better. God looks at the world he’s made and sees a world that’s overflowing with provision, that’s marked by harmonious relationships, that’s without suffering, grief, arguments, miscommunication, pain, death. It’s a world where everything is in order, where there’s perfect balance, where each part is perfectly put together to bring joy. It’s a place of security, beauty, and plenty. Where humanity has joy filled relationship with one another, the world and with God.
That’s the world God made, that he declares very good. In part it explains why we feel it’s so wrong when we suffer. It’s why we feel so frustrated when our child comes home having been bullied, or we hear of the diagnosis of a friend, or stand at the bedside and then graveside of loved ones. We weren’t made for this, we were made to enjoy something much more and that longing lingers in each and every one of our hearts.
But that may be the world God created and we’d love to live in but it doesn’t describe the one we live in does it? And the Bible shows us how we got from there to here. In Genesis 3 we see that the pain and suffering in our world isn’t because of manufacturing error but because of owner misuse. God gives this amazing world into the care of men and women. He doesn’t just leave us to it but shares his wisdom on how to rule his world so we can enjoy it at its optimum, so that joy lasts as he intends, beautiful, bountiful and secure.
Imagine I buy a new car. That car comes with a manual, it tells me to keep the tyres inflated and regularly check them, top up the oil and coolant every month and put diesel in the fuel tank. Why are those instructions there? Is it because the manufacturer wants to restrict my enjoyment? Imagine I’m standing at a garage by the fuel pump. Now I know the manufacturer told me to put diesel in the car, but petrol is cheaper. ‘The manufacturer is just holding me back’, I think, ‘I want the freedom to choose which fuel I use, I want to decide right and wrong for myself.’ Whose fault is it when a few miles down the road the car breaks down? Mine.
God isn’t restrictive but loving. Yet when tempted to doubt God’s love and care humanity rejects God’s instructions on how to best enjoy his creation. Once the idea that God isn’t good and doesn’t love us but is simply holding us back takes root we’re free to ignore his word and decide for ourselves. The consequences of doubting God’s love and rejecting his word are all around us. The Bible calls that rejection of God’s love and his wisdom and relationship with him sin.
It’s sin that causes the suffering and pain we see around us. Sin causes anger, hatred, greed, violence, rape, famine, murder, terrorism and so on. Sin in our hearts accounts for much of the brokenness and suffering in the world.
But what about natural disasters? What about tsunami’s, earthquakes and the like? They show us that the world is broken, that it’s sin sick. When man rejected God it had consequences not just for us but for the world we live in, like a stone dropped in a puddle the ripples ripple out. One Bible writer describes the world as being in the pains of childbirth. The world is groaning because of the pain it feels because of sin. Telling us that there’s something wrong, that this isn’t paradise, it isn’t how it was meant to be. The universe still contains great beauty, giving us glimpses of what it was like in all its glory but it’s now just a shadow of what God intended it to be. But that pain isn’t pointless just like childbirth it’s leading us to something new.
Suffering and pain are a call to us, they highlight a problem; sin, a world out of relationship with God.
What has God done about it?
When you take something back to a shop the customer service advisor asks you what’s wrong with the product. What they’re actually trying to work out is; is it broken because of a manufacturing fault or because of misuse by the owner? You can take your iPad back if it is broken because the on button or speakers won’t work, but not if it’s broken because you decided to clean it by putting it through your dishwasher.
That question: ‘manufacturing fault or owner misuse?’ is a helpful one to ask when we think about suffering in the world. The book of Genesis opens by describing the universe God made. It’s beautiful and bountiful. God looks at it and declares that it’s “very good”. That doesn’t mean that if God were doing a survey, like we do rating our holiday destination, that God would give it 7/10. It doesn’t mean could be better. God looks at the world he’s made and sees a world that’s overflowing with provision, that’s marked by harmonious relationships, that’s without suffering, grief, arguments, miscommunication, pain, death. It’s a world where everything is in order, where there’s perfect balance, where each part is perfectly put together to bring joy. It’s a place of security, beauty, and plenty. Where humanity has joy filled relationship with one another, the world and with God.
That’s the world God made, that he declares very good. In part it explains why we feel it’s so wrong when we suffer. It’s why we feel so frustrated when our child comes home having been bullied, or we hear of the diagnosis of a friend, or stand at the bedside and then graveside of loved ones. We weren’t made for this, we were made to enjoy something much more and that longing lingers in each and every one of our hearts.
But that may be the world God created and we’d love to live in but it doesn’t describe the one we live in does it? And the Bible shows us how we got from there to here. In Genesis 3 we see that the pain and suffering in our world isn’t because of manufacturing error but because of owner misuse. God gives this amazing world into the care of men and women. He doesn’t just leave us to it but shares his wisdom on how to rule his world so we can enjoy it at its optimum, so that joy lasts as he intends, beautiful, bountiful and secure.
Imagine I buy a new car. That car comes with a manual, it tells me to keep the tyres inflated and regularly check them, top up the oil and coolant every month and put diesel in the fuel tank. Why are those instructions there? Is it because the manufacturer wants to restrict my enjoyment? Imagine I’m standing at a garage by the fuel pump. Now I know the manufacturer told me to put diesel in the car, but petrol is cheaper. ‘The manufacturer is just holding me back’, I think, ‘I want the freedom to choose which fuel I use, I want to decide right and wrong for myself.’ Whose fault is it when a few miles down the road the car breaks down? Mine.
God isn’t restrictive but loving. Yet when tempted to doubt God’s love and care humanity rejects God’s instructions on how to best enjoy his creation. Once the idea that God isn’t good and doesn’t love us but is simply holding us back takes root we’re free to ignore his word and decide for ourselves. The consequences of doubting God’s love and rejecting his word are all around us. The Bible calls that rejection of God’s love and his wisdom and relationship with him sin.
It’s sin that causes the suffering and pain we see around us. Sin causes anger, hatred, greed, violence, rape, famine, murder, terrorism and so on. Sin in our hearts accounts for much of the brokenness and suffering in the world.
But what about natural disasters? What about tsunami’s, earthquakes and the like? They show us that the world is broken, that it’s sin sick. When man rejected God it had consequences not just for us but for the world we live in, like a stone dropped in a puddle the ripples ripple out. One Bible writer describes the world as being in the pains of childbirth. The world is groaning because of the pain it feels because of sin. Telling us that there’s something wrong, that this isn’t paradise, it isn’t how it was meant to be. The universe still contains great beauty, giving us glimpses of what it was like in all its glory but it’s now just a shadow of what God intended it to be. But that pain isn’t pointless just like childbirth it’s leading us to something new.
Suffering and pain are a call to us, they highlight a problem; sin, a world out of relationship with God.
What has God done about it?
If God made a perfect world only to see it corrupted by sin what’s he done about it? There is a danger in looking at the world and thinking God is doing nothing and has done nothing. Even assuming that God doesn’t care and has just left us to it.
In John 11 we see something amazing. God isn’t indifferent, he’s not distant, here we see God alongside us suffering in the world. Jesus is God the Son made man, entering into the brokenness of the world, God experiencing pain and suffering just as we do. Here we see him at a friends funeral, surrounded by mourners, having just comforted the grieving sisters, he weeps(35). (38)Jesus approaches the tomb; “Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb.” That word “deeply moved” doesn’t do justice to how Jesus feels. The word actually means to bellow with anger. Jesus as he approaches his friends tomb isn’t overcome by uncontrollable grief but by irrepressible anger. What’s he angry at? The pain and suffering that death brings. He is angry at how sin and Satan have so twisted God’s good creation. Jesus, God the Son is furious at death and suffering, not God, because sin causes suffering. God hates sin and its effects more than we do.
But anger without action is useless isn’t it? What does Jesus do? As he approaches the tomb and calls them to take the stone away from the tomb Jesus is angry at death, outraged by sin and the devastation it causes, and at him who has the power of death. Jesus approaches Lazarus tomb as a champion going into battle. As he prays to his Father(41-42), as he calls (43)“Lazarus, come out!” Jesus is doing battle with sin and death and Satan. And in the seconds after his shout it’s not just the crowd of mourners who wait, it’s as if the whole of creation holds its breath as it waits to see what’ll happen. “The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth round his face.”
Jesus at that moment shows his power to overcome sin and suffering and death and him who is behind it all. Jesus shows us what life should be like. He calms an out of control creation that terrifies and threatens his disciples, he overcomes the evil forces that hold people captive, he restores the sick to health, he removes disabilities and he raises the dead. He gives us a glimpse of what life was like before we rejected God, what it would be like to live life under the rule of a good God enjoying his love and protection. And he promises us that one day he’ll return and that glimpse will become an eternal reality. Sin will be judged and done away with once and for all.
Yet despite that glimpse men reject him again. (46-50)What do they do with Jesus? They plot to kill him. At the cross God himself tastes suffering; beaten, rejected, slandered, spat upon, mocked, alone, reviled, abused, a victim of injustice, and finally killed in the most humiliating and degrading way possible. And yet through all this rebellion and rejection God is sovereignly still at work. Not at the mercy of men, but working even through their decision to reject and crucify to save.
But here’s the problem of the kingdom Jesus shows us. One day Jesus promises he will come again and bring a world without suffering, without pain, without selfishness, without abuse, without injustice, without hatred. He will renew the world so it is as it was in the beginning. And that means a world without sin. Imagine for a minute that you and I were dropped into a world like that as we are? Would it be loving and just of God to let us unchanged into that world? We’d ruin it wouldn’t we! Because the problem isn’t just out there it’s in here. If God starts judging sin eventually he has to get to me and to you, and we face exclusion from that world and judgement from God for the suffering we cause.
God hates sin and the suffering it causes and will recreate a world where there’s no sin only loving relationship with God and therefore no pain and suffering. But he can’t let us in as we are. And it’s not enough to try to be good and meet God’s standard, because the standard is perfection. So at the cross Jesus doesn’t just experience suffering he suffers for us. He willingly takes our punishment for our sin and rebellion, all the suffering and pain we’ve caused. And that’s not all. He gives us his perfect, sinless, rebellion less, record, so we can know God now and one day as God’s people enter God’s new creation.
The suffering and pain around us shows us the world and we aren’t as we were made to be. But the gospel tells us God has done everything necessary to forgive us, and make us his new people fit for a world with no suffering mourning, crying or pain, all just the side effects of being in a right relationship with God. And God is sovereign but gracious; he doesn’t deal with suffering and pain and its cause sin now because he’s patiently waiting, giving us a chance to turn to him, to trust Jesus for forgiveness and new life so we don’t face his judgement.
Will you take that chance?
What difference does that make?
In John 11 we see something amazing. God isn’t indifferent, he’s not distant, here we see God alongside us suffering in the world. Jesus is God the Son made man, entering into the brokenness of the world, God experiencing pain and suffering just as we do. Here we see him at a friends funeral, surrounded by mourners, having just comforted the grieving sisters, he weeps(35). (38)Jesus approaches the tomb; “Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb.” That word “deeply moved” doesn’t do justice to how Jesus feels. The word actually means to bellow with anger. Jesus as he approaches his friends tomb isn’t overcome by uncontrollable grief but by irrepressible anger. What’s he angry at? The pain and suffering that death brings. He is angry at how sin and Satan have so twisted God’s good creation. Jesus, God the Son is furious at death and suffering, not God, because sin causes suffering. God hates sin and its effects more than we do.
But anger without action is useless isn’t it? What does Jesus do? As he approaches the tomb and calls them to take the stone away from the tomb Jesus is angry at death, outraged by sin and the devastation it causes, and at him who has the power of death. Jesus approaches Lazarus tomb as a champion going into battle. As he prays to his Father(41-42), as he calls (43)“Lazarus, come out!” Jesus is doing battle with sin and death and Satan. And in the seconds after his shout it’s not just the crowd of mourners who wait, it’s as if the whole of creation holds its breath as it waits to see what’ll happen. “The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth round his face.”
Jesus at that moment shows his power to overcome sin and suffering and death and him who is behind it all. Jesus shows us what life should be like. He calms an out of control creation that terrifies and threatens his disciples, he overcomes the evil forces that hold people captive, he restores the sick to health, he removes disabilities and he raises the dead. He gives us a glimpse of what life was like before we rejected God, what it would be like to live life under the rule of a good God enjoying his love and protection. And he promises us that one day he’ll return and that glimpse will become an eternal reality. Sin will be judged and done away with once and for all.
Yet despite that glimpse men reject him again. (46-50)What do they do with Jesus? They plot to kill him. At the cross God himself tastes suffering; beaten, rejected, slandered, spat upon, mocked, alone, reviled, abused, a victim of injustice, and finally killed in the most humiliating and degrading way possible. And yet through all this rebellion and rejection God is sovereignly still at work. Not at the mercy of men, but working even through their decision to reject and crucify to save.
But here’s the problem of the kingdom Jesus shows us. One day Jesus promises he will come again and bring a world without suffering, without pain, without selfishness, without abuse, without injustice, without hatred. He will renew the world so it is as it was in the beginning. And that means a world without sin. Imagine for a minute that you and I were dropped into a world like that as we are? Would it be loving and just of God to let us unchanged into that world? We’d ruin it wouldn’t we! Because the problem isn’t just out there it’s in here. If God starts judging sin eventually he has to get to me and to you, and we face exclusion from that world and judgement from God for the suffering we cause.
God hates sin and the suffering it causes and will recreate a world where there’s no sin only loving relationship with God and therefore no pain and suffering. But he can’t let us in as we are. And it’s not enough to try to be good and meet God’s standard, because the standard is perfection. So at the cross Jesus doesn’t just experience suffering he suffers for us. He willingly takes our punishment for our sin and rebellion, all the suffering and pain we’ve caused. And that’s not all. He gives us his perfect, sinless, rebellion less, record, so we can know God now and one day as God’s people enter God’s new creation.
The suffering and pain around us shows us the world and we aren’t as we were made to be. But the gospel tells us God has done everything necessary to forgive us, and make us his new people fit for a world with no suffering mourning, crying or pain, all just the side effects of being in a right relationship with God. And God is sovereign but gracious; he doesn’t deal with suffering and pain and its cause sin now because he’s patiently waiting, giving us a chance to turn to him, to trust Jesus for forgiveness and new life so we don’t face his judgement.
Will you take that chance?
What difference does that make?
Following Jesus transforms the way we think of pain and suffering. It doesn’t answer all our questions. But it does help us put our suffering into the bigger picture. It tells me God is a good loving heavenly Father who is sovereign and nothing is outside of his care. It tells me the world is broken and not as it should be and God cares about that, he’s more angry at suffering and sin than I’ll ever be. And he hasn’t left us alone to face it, he came, he died to get us ready for the world we long for. Whenever we’re tempted to think ‘why?’ ‘God do you care?’ We look back to the cross and see how much God cared and the price he pays to win for us back to right relationship with him.
Following Jesus doesn’t make us immune from suffering, it doesn’t make us emotionless robots. If anything it makes the grief more real because we know exactly what was lost. We mourn sin and it’s effects, just like Jesus did. We will rage against suffering and pain, we will feel the pain and grieve the loss of loved ones deeply, we’ll be angry not at God but at sin and its twisting of God’s perfect world and our own hearts.
But we don’t grieve without hope. Because we fix our eyes on Jesus – God with us! God suffering for us! His promise through the Holy Spirit never to leave us. His winning for us a certain future; a world without sin. The gospel brings us hope in suffering and comfort in the loving care of our Father who will amazingly and in ways I can never know work even my suffering for good and glory. No moment of it will be wasted, even though we may never welcome it, and never does he leave us alone in it. And one day, by grace, he’ll end all suffering and pain and welcome those who trust him into the world we all want and that he longs for us to enjoy with him.
Following Jesus doesn’t make us immune from suffering, it doesn’t make us emotionless robots. If anything it makes the grief more real because we know exactly what was lost. We mourn sin and it’s effects, just like Jesus did. We will rage against suffering and pain, we will feel the pain and grieve the loss of loved ones deeply, we’ll be angry not at God but at sin and its twisting of God’s perfect world and our own hearts.
But we don’t grieve without hope. Because we fix our eyes on Jesus – God with us! God suffering for us! His promise through the Holy Spirit never to leave us. His winning for us a certain future; a world without sin. The gospel brings us hope in suffering and comfort in the loving care of our Father who will amazingly and in ways I can never know work even my suffering for good and glory. No moment of it will be wasted, even though we may never welcome it, and never does he leave us alone in it. And one day, by grace, he’ll end all suffering and pain and welcome those who trust him into the world we all want and that he longs for us to enjoy with him.
Do you see the difference that hope makes to our suffering? There’s a rugged realism to how followers of Jesus think of suffering, and a real recognition of the pain it causes. There’s repentance and rescue from sin and a return to relationship with the Father. And the promise that we are always loved, never alone and no situation is wasted and the hope that one day God himself will wipe every tear from our eyes and suffering will end.
Thursday, 26 March 2015
The hardest sermon I've ever written
This week I'm working on the last in our series which resulted from asking our family and friends this question; If you could ask God one question and knew he would answer it what would it be? Unsurprisingly the most popular question was about why God allows suffering and pain in his world. That in itself is a difficult question, but I've answered it a number of times in church and CU mission contexts. But this week I'm finding it to be the hardest sermon I've ever written. Even now when normally I have a first draft already to go I'm not sure about what's there, what I've left out and what I ought to edit and change.
That's not because I'm being indecisive or haven't prepared. It's simply because the question feels very raw for us as a church. Everywhere you look there is suffering, from the long term sick, to the terminally ill, to the broken marriages and families, from the teen with mental health issues to the elderly contemplating the gradual suffering that comes with old age. Some of that suffering is acute some is more bearable but heralds a long slow decline. All of it is a heartbreaking privilege to be part of pastoring people through. But given that context, given the very raw emotions that this question touches upon for our church family it is really no surprise that this is proving a difficult sermon to write.
I'm aware that so much will be left unsaid that needs to be said. I'm aware that so much will be touched upon and long to apply the healing balm of the gospel to those tender nerve endings and emotions. It's a reminder again - as if we need it - that God needs to take and use his word in his way by his Spirit, because I simply can't.
That's not because I'm being indecisive or haven't prepared. It's simply because the question feels very raw for us as a church. Everywhere you look there is suffering, from the long term sick, to the terminally ill, to the broken marriages and families, from the teen with mental health issues to the elderly contemplating the gradual suffering that comes with old age. Some of that suffering is acute some is more bearable but heralds a long slow decline. All of it is a heartbreaking privilege to be part of pastoring people through. But given that context, given the very raw emotions that this question touches upon for our church family it is really no surprise that this is proving a difficult sermon to write.
I'm aware that so much will be left unsaid that needs to be said. I'm aware that so much will be touched upon and long to apply the healing balm of the gospel to those tender nerve endings and emotions. It's a reminder again - as if we need it - that God needs to take and use his word in his way by his Spirit, because I simply can't.
Wednesday, 25 February 2015
Ministry hurts
Ministry hurts, that is the truth. It is the harsh reality. It is the heartbreaking truth we experience again and again. After a refreshing week on holiday this weeks return has been hard. Sometimes the reality of the brokenness of the world seems to crash over your head again and again like a series of waves trying their best to pummel you and drag you under, and coming up for air is merely a momentary, quickly gasped relief, before the next wave tries with all it might to suck you under.
And if I'm honest it's not just the last few days. Sometimes ministry takes place on the sunlit, grass rich, water plentiful uplands, but at other times ministry just seems like one long fearful foray through the valley of the shadow of death. It's in the light of that that God providentially drove me to study Psalm 77 this week.
I guess the obvious question is how does that help? The Psalm seems unfinished, whilst he rehearses the rescue and redemption and covenant faithfulness of God in the past his own rescue remains a tantalisingly unrealised potential reality. There is no joy filled verse 21-22 where he recounts his own experience of just such a rescue, exhorting Israel to sing God's praise with him. There is just the fact that God is faithful, God rescues and redeems and the unspoken hope and faith in God's character to one day do that again. Sometimes a Psalm articulates your prayers better than you can, and there is joy, comfort and rest in that.
Some days in ministry are Psalm 77 days, and that doesn't need swift theological correction via a metaphorical doctrinal boot up the backside, it needs the grace to give time and space for quiet prayer and a Spirit filled determination and trust that God loves and redeems and one day will fully rescue, rediscovered in God's word and articulated in the prayers he inspires to gives us words when we are struggling to find them.
And if I'm honest it's not just the last few days. Sometimes ministry takes place on the sunlit, grass rich, water plentiful uplands, but at other times ministry just seems like one long fearful foray through the valley of the shadow of death. It's in the light of that that God providentially drove me to study Psalm 77 this week.
I cried out to God for help;
I cried out to God to hear me.
2 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
at night I stretched out untiring hands,
and I would not be comforted.
I cried out to God to hear me.
2 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
at night I stretched out untiring hands,
and I would not be comforted.
3 I remembered you, God, and I groaned;
I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.
4 You kept my eyes from closing;
I was too troubled to speak.
5 I thought about the former days,
the years of long ago;
6 I remembered my songs in the night.
My heart meditated and my spirit asked:
I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.
4 You kept my eyes from closing;
I was too troubled to speak.
5 I thought about the former days,
the years of long ago;
6 I remembered my songs in the night.
My heart meditated and my spirit asked:
7 ‘Will the Lord reject for ever?
Will he never show his favour again?
8 Has his unfailing love vanished for ever?
Has his promise failed for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has he in anger withheld his compassion?’
Will he never show his favour again?
8 Has his unfailing love vanished for ever?
Has his promise failed for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has he in anger withheld his compassion?’
10 Then I thought, ‘To this I will appeal:
the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
12 I will consider all your works
and meditate on all your mighty deeds.’
the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
12 I will consider all your works
and meditate on all your mighty deeds.’
13 Your ways, God, are holy.
What god is as great as our God?
14 You are the God who performs miracles;
you display your power among the peoples.
15 With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
What god is as great as our God?
14 You are the God who performs miracles;
you display your power among the peoples.
15 With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
16 The waters saw you, God,
the waters saw you and writhed;
the very depths were convulsed.
17 The clouds poured down water,
the heavens resounded with thunder;
your arrows flashed back and forth.
18 Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,
your lightning lit up the world;
the earth trembled and quaked.
19 Your path led through the sea,
your way through the mighty waters,
though your footprints were not seen.
the waters saw you and writhed;
the very depths were convulsed.
17 The clouds poured down water,
the heavens resounded with thunder;
your arrows flashed back and forth.
18 Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,
your lightning lit up the world;
the earth trembled and quaked.
19 Your path led through the sea,
your way through the mighty waters,
though your footprints were not seen.
20 You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Some days in ministry are Psalm 77 days, and that doesn't need swift theological correction via a metaphorical doctrinal boot up the backside, it needs the grace to give time and space for quiet prayer and a Spirit filled determination and trust that God loves and redeems and one day will fully rescue, rediscovered in God's word and articulated in the prayers he inspires to gives us words when we are struggling to find them.
Tuesday, 14 October 2014
The bit I hate about pastoral ministry
What do you imagine your pastor or vicar hates about pastoral ministry? I guess there might be a number of things: meetings, politics, admin. I don't hate any of those things but I was powerfully reminded again yesterday of the bit I do hate. I hate the brokenness of the world in which we live and it's devastating effects of those in our church family that I love in Christ.
Some days as a pastor your calling is to sit and listen as people pour out their hearts and lament the brokenness of the world and its impact on them and their families. You are not called to be a dispassionate observer, or even a cool detached listener. Your calling is to weep with those who weep, not in a professional or detached way but in a way that reflects your love of those you are called by God to care for. It is not that their grief becomes your grief in an overly empathetic way but your compassion for them means you enter into their suffering and hurt with them, from that view point you look to minister to them.
One of those passages I turn to again and again in such circumstances is Psalm 42. It beautifully and powerfully mixes lament at brokenness with a desperate determination to cling to God as our only hope:
1 As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
3 My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go to the house of God
under the protection of the Mighty One[d]
with shouts of joy and praise
among the festive throng.
so my soul pants for you, my God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
3 My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go to the house of God
under the protection of the Mighty One[d]
with shouts of joy and praise
among the festive throng.
5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
6 My soul is downcast within me;
therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me.
therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me.
8 By day the Lord directs his love,
at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.
at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?”
10 My bones suffer mortal agony
as my foes taunt me,
saying to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?”
10 My bones suffer mortal agony
as my foes taunt me,
saying to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Friday, 24 February 2012
Why would a loving God allow suffering?
This is without doubt the question that is most asked by people and it is a great question. We are just going to watch a clip from a film called Patch Adams. Patch played by Robin Williams is a student doctor; he has set up a free clinic to care for those without medical insurance. But one of the patients murders his girlfriend. We pick up the story as a grieving Patch confronts God over what has happened.
Clip from Patch Adams Ch 13 1:28:50-1:31:00 “Let’s look at the logic; you create man, man suffers enormous amounts of pain and dies. Maybe you should have had a few more brainstorming sessions before creation. You rested on the seventh day maybe you should have spent that day on compassion.”
I think it’s a clip that sums up our problem as we look at the world. The world is full of tragedy and suffering isn’t it? Tsunami’s, earthquakes, war, genocide, drought, starvation, oppression, slavery and so on.
The bible is not silent when it comes to suffering, it doesn’t hide from issues like death, grief, mourning, illness, childlessness, disability, or the impact of natural disasters. But the Bible maintains that even in the face of suffering God is good and it considers both natural disasters and man-made suffering. Its honesty about these issues is another thing which makes the bible and Christianity unique. Ask a Muslim about suffering and they will reply it is the will of Allah, ask a Hindu and its karma, ask an atheist and they will tell you it is just random chance, part of the natural evolutionary cycle. But the Bible’s answer is both more satisfying and more serious.
It may surprise you but the Bible gives some time to thinking about life without God and concludes that everything; riches, poverty, pleasures, sadness, enjoyment, suffering is all meaningless if there is no God because the end result is the same we die.
If there is no God then suffering is just part of evolution, a way of weeding out the weak from the strong, we shouldn’t mourn over it but marvel at its ruthless efficiency. If there is no God there is no point in suffering so we should just get over it and get on with life.
The author of that book concludes at the end that life only makes sense with God in the picture. So how does the bible explain how a loving God can allow suffering?
Positive Pain
Luke 13:1-9. The crowds are gathering around Jesus and they tell him about how (1)Pilate has massacred some Galileans and mixed their blood with sacrifices.
Every society has its perceived wisdom, in Jesus day it was that those who were killed in such a disaster must somehow have deserved it, that they must have been worse sinners than anyone else. But Jesus disagrees(2-3), in fact he says “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no!”
And what he does next is even more surprising isn’t it? After all its easy to explain this suffering s man made – Pilate did it. (4-5)But now Jesus raises the bar by discussing the issue of natural disasters, and he reiterates his point, those who were killed when the tower fell on them were not more sinful than anyone else, but neither does Jesus say it just happened.
(3,5)Jesus warns the crowd that those who died in both incidents were no more sinful than anyone else and calls on the crowd to recognise they have a common destiny. Everyone dies the only question is timing and circumstance, and he uses both tragedies to warn the crowd to repent. He goes on to tell a parable to show them that they must respond and bear fruit or face judgement.
Do you see what Jesus is saying? Suffering is a warning, it reminds us of our frailty and that we will all die, it shows us the consequences of a world where we live without reference to God.
Leprosy is a horrible disease, it stops you feeling pain so that you no longer remove your hand from the hot surface, or feel it when you step on glass, or notice when you slice into your finger. Pain is an early warning sign that something is wrong. Suffering is in part designed to warn us that something is wrong, wrong with our world, and wrong with us and to make us ask big questions and search for big answers.
I think we like Patch make an assumption that God made the world like this.
What’s wrong with the world?
Do you notice how Jesus describes the people he is talking to and the people who died? “Sinners” And not just those that died in fact he says all humans are sinners.
Behind our question ‘How could a loving God allow suffering?’ is the wrong assumes that the world is how it is because God made it that way. But actually what Jesus says is that God didn’t make the world this way sin did. The Bible shows us God creating a perfect world, a world without suffering, without natural disasters, without acts of evil, until man decided to oust God and rule the world according to our version of right and wrong.
And from that moment on everything unravels. The chaos, destruction, evil, suffering and natural disasters are all the result of a world where we try to rule the world in our wisdom rather than God’s.
But God is not done with the world yet. If you read through the gospels you see Jesus calming a raging out of control creation, you see him free a demon possessed man, then he heals a sick woman liberating her from her years of suffering, and finally he brings an end to mourning as he undoes death itself. Jesus is not indifferent to suffering nor is he incapable in the face of it. Jesus gives us a glimpse of the world we all want. A world with no death, no mourning, no pain, no illness, no conflict, no natural disasters. A world with none of the consequences of sin because there is no sin, a world which is perfect because it is ruled by God.
Jesus gives us glimpses of the world we all want and he comes to prepare us for it. Our world is dislocated because it is out of relationship with God because we reject God and want to decide right and wrong for ourselves. One day God will deal justly with all the sin that has caused suffering, but that means he must deal justly with us – with our rejection of him and the suffering we have caused others.
The Silent Plain.
At the end of time, billions of people were scattered on a great plain before Gods throne. Most shrank back from the brilliant light before them. But some groups near the front talked heatedly – not with cringing shame but with belligerence. “Can God judge us?”
“How can he know about suffering?” snapped a pert young brunette. She ripped open a sleeve to reveal a tattooed number from a Nazi concentration camp. “We endured terror … beating … torture … death!”
In another group a black man lowered his collar. “What about this?” he demanded, showing an ugly rope burn. “Lynched for no crime but being black!”
In another crowd, a pregnant schoolgirl with sullen eyes. “Why should I suffer?” She murmured. “It wasn’t my fault.”
Far out across the plain were hundreds of such groups. Each had a complaint against God for the evil and suffering he had permitted in his world. How lucky God was to live in heaven where all was sweetness and light, where there was no weeping or fear, no hunger or hatred! What did God know of all that men had been forced to endure in the world? For God leads a pretty sheltered life, they said.
So each of the groups sent forth their leader, chosen because they had suffered the most. A Jew, a person from Hiroshima, a horribly disabled arthritic, a thalidomide child. In the centre of the plain they consulted with each other.
At last they were ready to present their case. It was rather clever. Before God could be qualified to be their judge, he must endure what they had endured. Their verdict was that God should be sentenced to live on earth – as a man! Let him be born a Jew. Let the legitimacy of his birth be doubted. Give him a work so difficult that even his family will think him out of his mind when he tries to do it. Let him be betrayed by his closest friends. Let him face false charges, be tried by a prejudiced jury and convicted by a cowardly judge. Let him be tortured. And last, let him see what it means to be terribly alone. Then let him die in agony. Let him die so that there can be no doubt that he died. Let there be a whole host of witnesses to verify it.
As each leader announced the portion of his sentence, loud murmurs of approval went up from the throng of people assembled. When the last finished pronouncing sentence there was a long silence. No one uttered another word. No one moved. For suddenly all knew that God had already served his sentence.
Jesus comes and shares our suffering, in fact at the cross he goes beyond our suffering because God is not indifferent, God is not in attentive.
A loving God will deal with suffering but for now he waits because in love he is warning us that one day he will deal with all the suffering in the world, but that means he must deal with us. Jesus is God’s warning but he is also the solution, he gives us a glimpse of the world we all want and he is the way there by trusting in him.
In Luke 13 in response to the warning the suffering gives Jesus urges the crowd to repent. To change, to say sorry and stop living life our way with our version of right and wrong and instead live life God’s way, to say thank you for sending Jesus to warn and provide a way we can be forgiven, and lastly ask Jesus to be your king.
Clip from Patch Adams Ch 13 1:28:50-1:31:00 “Let’s look at the logic; you create man, man suffers enormous amounts of pain and dies. Maybe you should have had a few more brainstorming sessions before creation. You rested on the seventh day maybe you should have spent that day on compassion.”
I think it’s a clip that sums up our problem as we look at the world. The world is full of tragedy and suffering isn’t it? Tsunami’s, earthquakes, war, genocide, drought, starvation, oppression, slavery and so on.
The bible is not silent when it comes to suffering, it doesn’t hide from issues like death, grief, mourning, illness, childlessness, disability, or the impact of natural disasters. But the Bible maintains that even in the face of suffering God is good and it considers both natural disasters and man-made suffering. Its honesty about these issues is another thing which makes the bible and Christianity unique. Ask a Muslim about suffering and they will reply it is the will of Allah, ask a Hindu and its karma, ask an atheist and they will tell you it is just random chance, part of the natural evolutionary cycle. But the Bible’s answer is both more satisfying and more serious.
It may surprise you but the Bible gives some time to thinking about life without God and concludes that everything; riches, poverty, pleasures, sadness, enjoyment, suffering is all meaningless if there is no God because the end result is the same we die.
If there is no God then suffering is just part of evolution, a way of weeding out the weak from the strong, we shouldn’t mourn over it but marvel at its ruthless efficiency. If there is no God there is no point in suffering so we should just get over it and get on with life.
The author of that book concludes at the end that life only makes sense with God in the picture. So how does the bible explain how a loving God can allow suffering?
Positive Pain
Luke 13:1-9. The crowds are gathering around Jesus and they tell him about how (1)Pilate has massacred some Galileans and mixed their blood with sacrifices.
Every society has its perceived wisdom, in Jesus day it was that those who were killed in such a disaster must somehow have deserved it, that they must have been worse sinners than anyone else. But Jesus disagrees(2-3), in fact he says “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no!”
And what he does next is even more surprising isn’t it? After all its easy to explain this suffering s man made – Pilate did it. (4-5)But now Jesus raises the bar by discussing the issue of natural disasters, and he reiterates his point, those who were killed when the tower fell on them were not more sinful than anyone else, but neither does Jesus say it just happened.
(3,5)Jesus warns the crowd that those who died in both incidents were no more sinful than anyone else and calls on the crowd to recognise they have a common destiny. Everyone dies the only question is timing and circumstance, and he uses both tragedies to warn the crowd to repent. He goes on to tell a parable to show them that they must respond and bear fruit or face judgement.
Do you see what Jesus is saying? Suffering is a warning, it reminds us of our frailty and that we will all die, it shows us the consequences of a world where we live without reference to God.
Leprosy is a horrible disease, it stops you feeling pain so that you no longer remove your hand from the hot surface, or feel it when you step on glass, or notice when you slice into your finger. Pain is an early warning sign that something is wrong. Suffering is in part designed to warn us that something is wrong, wrong with our world, and wrong with us and to make us ask big questions and search for big answers.
I think we like Patch make an assumption that God made the world like this.
What’s wrong with the world?
Do you notice how Jesus describes the people he is talking to and the people who died? “Sinners” And not just those that died in fact he says all humans are sinners.
Behind our question ‘How could a loving God allow suffering?’ is the wrong assumes that the world is how it is because God made it that way. But actually what Jesus says is that God didn’t make the world this way sin did. The Bible shows us God creating a perfect world, a world without suffering, without natural disasters, without acts of evil, until man decided to oust God and rule the world according to our version of right and wrong.
And from that moment on everything unravels. The chaos, destruction, evil, suffering and natural disasters are all the result of a world where we try to rule the world in our wisdom rather than God’s.
But God is not done with the world yet. If you read through the gospels you see Jesus calming a raging out of control creation, you see him free a demon possessed man, then he heals a sick woman liberating her from her years of suffering, and finally he brings an end to mourning as he undoes death itself. Jesus is not indifferent to suffering nor is he incapable in the face of it. Jesus gives us a glimpse of the world we all want. A world with no death, no mourning, no pain, no illness, no conflict, no natural disasters. A world with none of the consequences of sin because there is no sin, a world which is perfect because it is ruled by God.
Jesus gives us glimpses of the world we all want and he comes to prepare us for it. Our world is dislocated because it is out of relationship with God because we reject God and want to decide right and wrong for ourselves. One day God will deal justly with all the sin that has caused suffering, but that means he must deal justly with us – with our rejection of him and the suffering we have caused others.
The Silent Plain.
At the end of time, billions of people were scattered on a great plain before Gods throne. Most shrank back from the brilliant light before them. But some groups near the front talked heatedly – not with cringing shame but with belligerence. “Can God judge us?”
“How can he know about suffering?” snapped a pert young brunette. She ripped open a sleeve to reveal a tattooed number from a Nazi concentration camp. “We endured terror … beating … torture … death!”
In another group a black man lowered his collar. “What about this?” he demanded, showing an ugly rope burn. “Lynched for no crime but being black!”
In another crowd, a pregnant schoolgirl with sullen eyes. “Why should I suffer?” She murmured. “It wasn’t my fault.”
Far out across the plain were hundreds of such groups. Each had a complaint against God for the evil and suffering he had permitted in his world. How lucky God was to live in heaven where all was sweetness and light, where there was no weeping or fear, no hunger or hatred! What did God know of all that men had been forced to endure in the world? For God leads a pretty sheltered life, they said.
So each of the groups sent forth their leader, chosen because they had suffered the most. A Jew, a person from Hiroshima, a horribly disabled arthritic, a thalidomide child. In the centre of the plain they consulted with each other.
At last they were ready to present their case. It was rather clever. Before God could be qualified to be their judge, he must endure what they had endured. Their verdict was that God should be sentenced to live on earth – as a man! Let him be born a Jew. Let the legitimacy of his birth be doubted. Give him a work so difficult that even his family will think him out of his mind when he tries to do it. Let him be betrayed by his closest friends. Let him face false charges, be tried by a prejudiced jury and convicted by a cowardly judge. Let him be tortured. And last, let him see what it means to be terribly alone. Then let him die in agony. Let him die so that there can be no doubt that he died. Let there be a whole host of witnesses to verify it.
As each leader announced the portion of his sentence, loud murmurs of approval went up from the throng of people assembled. When the last finished pronouncing sentence there was a long silence. No one uttered another word. No one moved. For suddenly all knew that God had already served his sentence.
Jesus comes and shares our suffering, in fact at the cross he goes beyond our suffering because God is not indifferent, God is not in attentive.
A loving God will deal with suffering but for now he waits because in love he is warning us that one day he will deal with all the suffering in the world, but that means he must deal with us. Jesus is God’s warning but he is also the solution, he gives us a glimpse of the world we all want and he is the way there by trusting in him.
In Luke 13 in response to the warning the suffering gives Jesus urges the crowd to repent. To change, to say sorry and stop living life our way with our version of right and wrong and instead live life God’s way, to say thank you for sending Jesus to warn and provide a way we can be forgiven, and lastly ask Jesus to be your king.
Thursday, 29 December 2011
Praying when you are suffering
How do we pray when we are suffering? Here is a brilliant article from CCEF; http://www.ccef.org/blog/how-talk-god
Monday, 20 June 2011
Romans 8:18-30 Hope in Suffering?
How does the world think of suffering? What strategies does it suggest for facing it?
How is a disciples’ perspective different?
The bible is honest about life; it doesn’t hide away the unpalatable truths or the difficulties, or shy away from the hard questions. It is not possible to read the bible and remain in denial about suffering, its reality, its origin and what it points us to. As soon as sin enters the world in Genesis 3 suffering comes with it. As God’s pronounces the curses we see they are shot through with suffering. In a world made sick by sin suffering is now part of normal life. If you reject the key stone of creation – God and his word – then that world becomes dislocated and painful. Enmity, pain in childbirth, battles and strife in relationships, painful toil, thorns, thistles, sweat, and death are all a normal part of life exiled from the Garden of Eden, outside of God’s glory and his presence.
And it doesn’t just affect those who reject God. Saints suffer – Abel is murdered, because he makes righteous offerings to God, by his jealous brother, Abraham and Sarah are childless, Joseph is hated and betrayed, Israel are oppressed in slavery in Egypt and so on. Saints suffer. That continues in the New Testament as the Church suffers – beatings, persecution, ship wreck, and death. And even the Son of God suffers. Jesus God made man steps into his sin sick creation and even he is not immune from suffering, he feels hunger and thirst, he mourns, he is opposed, hated, confronted, abandoned, isolated, betrayed, unjustly condemned and crucified.
The bible teaches us again and again that suffering is normal in a fallen world and God’s people are not immune, the gospel is not a get out of suffering free card!
In Romans 8 we see the distinctive nature of Christian suffering because Christians have a certain and sure hope that suffering cannot shake, a hope which, in fact, suffering makes stronger. The suffering Romans 8 talks about is not only those trials believers face because of their faith but the whole spectrum of suffering; illness, death, hunger, mourning, loss, poverty and so on... But how ought we to react? As we live in a fallen world as those who trust Jesus how are we distinctive in suffering?
As we come to this passage we need to put it in its Romans context. Romans 1-2 show us why everyone needs the gospel, Romans 3 remind us of God’s standard of righteousness and our inability to attain it, while ch4 shows us that justification is by faith. Ch5-8 look at what it means to live under grace:
5:1-11 Suffering with the assurance of future glory
5:12-21 The work of Christ is the basis of our assurance
6:1-23 The gospel liberates us from slavery to sin
7:1-25 Rescued from the law in Jesus
8:1-17 The work of the Spirit is the basis of our assurance
8:18-39 Suffering with the assurance of future glory.
Chapter 8 begins how? “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ...” and ends(39) with the assurance nothing can separate us from the love of God. Those who believe in Jesus are secure even as they suffer, and (17)suffering does not mortgage our hope, but it points us to our hope which we see in our Saviour.
Suffering is the way to glory(17-18)
Paul reassures these believers that their hope is in Jesus who justifies them, who makes them sons and heirs with him, they share in his inheritance and they will share in his glory, and they will also share in his suffering.
Glory is a big idea in Romans, (1:27)we forfeited the glory of God when we rebel against God, (3:23)now because of sin we fall short of the glory of God and face death, but (5:25)because of the grace of God by faith in Jesus we can be justified and know the hope of the glory of God. That one day we will see God in his glorious splendour, brilliance, holiness and majesty and we will be fitted to be in his presence, glorified ourselves so we can be in the presence of his radiant glory.
In (18)Paul puts suffering and glory on the scales to weigh up if suffering now is worth glory then and his conclusion is an emphatic yes! “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” As he weighs these it’s as if suffering now is but dust on the scales compared to the weight of glory that is our hope.
But what evidence is there to back up Paul’s conclusion? That is what Paul provides in(19-27), before concluding(28-30).
Evidence A: Creation groans longing for hope realised.
(19)Begins with a “For” which is missed out in the TNIV, but it helps us see the connection, I consider suffering now to be nothing compared to glory then because... **What is creation waiting for? “for the children of God to be revealed” for the new creation when God’s creation will be remade and governed by Christ-like stewards, when it is liberated from its subjection to decay and imperfection, when it returns to its former glory when it sung the symphony of God’s glory without discord.
Creation is messed up, it feels the effects of sin, it is subject to decay and chaos like a marred masterpiece. And it longs for its former glory but cannot attain it because its stewards did not and will not rule it under God’s rule. And it eagerly expects, it hopes, it groans out its longing for the day when it will experience that again. Creation does not long for the absence of human beings but for a restored creation under a new Christ-like humanity ruling under God so it truly displays his glory.
Do you see the scope of your hope? It is universal! It is a hope the whole universe shares, and it is certain, in fact the groaning of creation now is like labour pains, pains that don’t indicate a tumour or a sickness or death, but an impending newness, a new life, a new beginning.
Evidence B: We groan longing for hope realised
The second proof of the magnitude of the glory we have as our hope is the groaning of the church. Suffering makes believers groan. You might say ‘Yes but it makes unbelievers groan too’ but there is a vital difference; the believers groan is not hopeless.
When the world groans in the face of suffering it is a groan of hopelessness; ‘This is awful’, or ‘How terrible’, or ‘Why me?’ or ‘How could a loving God allow this to happen?’ It moans but it is a hopeless moaning.
But notice that believers groan longingly, expectantly, hopefully, patiently. Because believers are marked by having the Holy Spirit at work in them. 8:11 “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is at work in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” We are God’s children filled with God’s Spirit and that means our groaning is distinctive because we are resurrection people.
The Spirit within us reminds us as we suffer of our future, of which his presence is just a taster of what one day we will realise - the hope of the glory of God. And so we groan differently from the hopeless world. Our groan is come Lord Jesus, it is Father come and reveal your glory to us and in us as you redeem and renew our bodies.
That is what marks out the believer, it is a distinctive groan that longs for Christ to come and will not give in to bitterness or cynicism but chooses to boast in the hope of the glory of God even in suffering.
Our hope is so great we groan for it.
Evidence C: God groans to God for hope realised(26-27)The believer is marked out by having the Spirit, living by the spirit and being led by the Spirit, the Spirit as a taster of what’s to come helps us expectantly and longingly groan. But actually Paul goes beyond that, the glory that is our hope is so magnificent, so amazing that God the Spirit groans within us. The Spirit within us enables us to see the worlds groaning as labour pains, he enables us to pray ‘your kingdom come’ and causes us to long for God’s presence. But there is more here, beneath our groaning the Spirit himself cries out to God on our behalf – God prays to God. The Spirit joins with us in bearing the burden of our humanity, praying for us when we don’t know what to pray.
Our hope is so vast, so cosmic in scale, so universal in its significance that God prays to God from within us. That is how glorious our hope is and how certain if God prays top God for it we know it is according to his will and is a prayer that will be answered!
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
Conclusion: A certain hope worth waiting for(27)Ends with the Spirit interceding for us in accordance with God’s will, the question is what is God’s will?
God’s will is for those who love him and are called to be his people to be made Christ-like, and to follow where Christ has blazed a trail. But there is also security here because of how God’s people facing suffering are described.
Foreknown – God’s foreknowledge is relational not just knowledge based. Before believers know God he knows them.
Predestined – God’s purpose is that those he knows become more and more like Christ, increasingly reflecting God’s glory.
Called – Is the effective calling of God which brings us spiritually alive from the dead.
Justified – God’s declaration that those he has predestined and called are righteous by faith in Jesus and in a right relationship with him.
Glorified – **What tense is this in? In the past tense because our future is certain because God says it will happen! We will be glorified, our hope will be realised.
Suffering is just the dust on the scales compared to our hope of glory because what God has begun he will complete. In fact even in our suffering God is at work not just for our good – developing perseverance, character, and hope, but for the greater good because our groaning becomes part of the great symphony of groaning with creation and the Spirit crying out come Lord Jesus. And no matter how great our suffering our future is certain, our hope of glory will be realised.
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
How is a disciples’ perspective different?
The bible is honest about life; it doesn’t hide away the unpalatable truths or the difficulties, or shy away from the hard questions. It is not possible to read the bible and remain in denial about suffering, its reality, its origin and what it points us to. As soon as sin enters the world in Genesis 3 suffering comes with it. As God’s pronounces the curses we see they are shot through with suffering. In a world made sick by sin suffering is now part of normal life. If you reject the key stone of creation – God and his word – then that world becomes dislocated and painful. Enmity, pain in childbirth, battles and strife in relationships, painful toil, thorns, thistles, sweat, and death are all a normal part of life exiled from the Garden of Eden, outside of God’s glory and his presence.
And it doesn’t just affect those who reject God. Saints suffer – Abel is murdered, because he makes righteous offerings to God, by his jealous brother, Abraham and Sarah are childless, Joseph is hated and betrayed, Israel are oppressed in slavery in Egypt and so on. Saints suffer. That continues in the New Testament as the Church suffers – beatings, persecution, ship wreck, and death. And even the Son of God suffers. Jesus God made man steps into his sin sick creation and even he is not immune from suffering, he feels hunger and thirst, he mourns, he is opposed, hated, confronted, abandoned, isolated, betrayed, unjustly condemned and crucified.
The bible teaches us again and again that suffering is normal in a fallen world and God’s people are not immune, the gospel is not a get out of suffering free card!
In Romans 8 we see the distinctive nature of Christian suffering because Christians have a certain and sure hope that suffering cannot shake, a hope which, in fact, suffering makes stronger. The suffering Romans 8 talks about is not only those trials believers face because of their faith but the whole spectrum of suffering; illness, death, hunger, mourning, loss, poverty and so on... But how ought we to react? As we live in a fallen world as those who trust Jesus how are we distinctive in suffering?
As we come to this passage we need to put it in its Romans context. Romans 1-2 show us why everyone needs the gospel, Romans 3 remind us of God’s standard of righteousness and our inability to attain it, while ch4 shows us that justification is by faith. Ch5-8 look at what it means to live under grace:
5:1-11 Suffering with the assurance of future glory
5:12-21 The work of Christ is the basis of our assurance
6:1-23 The gospel liberates us from slavery to sin
7:1-25 Rescued from the law in Jesus
8:1-17 The work of the Spirit is the basis of our assurance
8:18-39 Suffering with the assurance of future glory.
Chapter 8 begins how? “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ...” and ends(39) with the assurance nothing can separate us from the love of God. Those who believe in Jesus are secure even as they suffer, and (17)suffering does not mortgage our hope, but it points us to our hope which we see in our Saviour.
Suffering is the way to glory(17-18)
Paul reassures these believers that their hope is in Jesus who justifies them, who makes them sons and heirs with him, they share in his inheritance and they will share in his glory, and they will also share in his suffering.
Glory is a big idea in Romans, (1:27)we forfeited the glory of God when we rebel against God, (3:23)now because of sin we fall short of the glory of God and face death, but (5:25)because of the grace of God by faith in Jesus we can be justified and know the hope of the glory of God. That one day we will see God in his glorious splendour, brilliance, holiness and majesty and we will be fitted to be in his presence, glorified ourselves so we can be in the presence of his radiant glory.
In (18)Paul puts suffering and glory on the scales to weigh up if suffering now is worth glory then and his conclusion is an emphatic yes! “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” As he weighs these it’s as if suffering now is but dust on the scales compared to the weight of glory that is our hope.
But what evidence is there to back up Paul’s conclusion? That is what Paul provides in(19-27), before concluding(28-30).
Evidence A: Creation groans longing for hope realised.
(19)Begins with a “For” which is missed out in the TNIV, but it helps us see the connection, I consider suffering now to be nothing compared to glory then because... **What is creation waiting for? “for the children of God to be revealed” for the new creation when God’s creation will be remade and governed by Christ-like stewards, when it is liberated from its subjection to decay and imperfection, when it returns to its former glory when it sung the symphony of God’s glory without discord.
Creation is messed up, it feels the effects of sin, it is subject to decay and chaos like a marred masterpiece. And it longs for its former glory but cannot attain it because its stewards did not and will not rule it under God’s rule. And it eagerly expects, it hopes, it groans out its longing for the day when it will experience that again. Creation does not long for the absence of human beings but for a restored creation under a new Christ-like humanity ruling under God so it truly displays his glory.
Do you see the scope of your hope? It is universal! It is a hope the whole universe shares, and it is certain, in fact the groaning of creation now is like labour pains, pains that don’t indicate a tumour or a sickness or death, but an impending newness, a new life, a new beginning.
Evidence B: We groan longing for hope realised
The second proof of the magnitude of the glory we have as our hope is the groaning of the church. Suffering makes believers groan. You might say ‘Yes but it makes unbelievers groan too’ but there is a vital difference; the believers groan is not hopeless.
When the world groans in the face of suffering it is a groan of hopelessness; ‘This is awful’, or ‘How terrible’, or ‘Why me?’ or ‘How could a loving God allow this to happen?’ It moans but it is a hopeless moaning.
But notice that believers groan longingly, expectantly, hopefully, patiently. Because believers are marked by having the Holy Spirit at work in them. 8:11 “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is at work in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” We are God’s children filled with God’s Spirit and that means our groaning is distinctive because we are resurrection people.
The Spirit within us reminds us as we suffer of our future, of which his presence is just a taster of what one day we will realise - the hope of the glory of God. And so we groan differently from the hopeless world. Our groan is come Lord Jesus, it is Father come and reveal your glory to us and in us as you redeem and renew our bodies.
That is what marks out the believer, it is a distinctive groan that longs for Christ to come and will not give in to bitterness or cynicism but chooses to boast in the hope of the glory of God even in suffering.
Our hope is so great we groan for it.
Evidence C: God groans to God for hope realised(26-27)The believer is marked out by having the Spirit, living by the spirit and being led by the Spirit, the Spirit as a taster of what’s to come helps us expectantly and longingly groan. But actually Paul goes beyond that, the glory that is our hope is so magnificent, so amazing that God the Spirit groans within us. The Spirit within us enables us to see the worlds groaning as labour pains, he enables us to pray ‘your kingdom come’ and causes us to long for God’s presence. But there is more here, beneath our groaning the Spirit himself cries out to God on our behalf – God prays to God. The Spirit joins with us in bearing the burden of our humanity, praying for us when we don’t know what to pray.
Our hope is so vast, so cosmic in scale, so universal in its significance that God prays to God from within us. That is how glorious our hope is and how certain if God prays top God for it we know it is according to his will and is a prayer that will be answered!
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
Conclusion: A certain hope worth waiting for(27)Ends with the Spirit interceding for us in accordance with God’s will, the question is what is God’s will?
God’s will is for those who love him and are called to be his people to be made Christ-like, and to follow where Christ has blazed a trail. But there is also security here because of how God’s people facing suffering are described.
Foreknown – God’s foreknowledge is relational not just knowledge based. Before believers know God he knows them.
Predestined – God’s purpose is that those he knows become more and more like Christ, increasingly reflecting God’s glory.
Called – Is the effective calling of God which brings us spiritually alive from the dead.
Justified – God’s declaration that those he has predestined and called are righteous by faith in Jesus and in a right relationship with him.
Glorified – **What tense is this in? In the past tense because our future is certain because God says it will happen! We will be glorified, our hope will be realised.
Suffering is just the dust on the scales compared to our hope of glory because what God has begun he will complete. In fact even in our suffering God is at work not just for our good – developing perseverance, character, and hope, but for the greater good because our groaning becomes part of the great symphony of groaning with creation and the Spirit crying out come Lord Jesus. And no matter how great our suffering our future is certain, our hope of glory will be realised.
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
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