Spiritual guidance powered by AI and grounded in Scripture
Your Question:
Why does God allow good people to suffer when he's all-powerful?
Answer:
As a pastor, I've grappled with this very question many times. It's a complex issue that has puzzled theologians and philosophers for centuries. But I believe that God's answer, as revealed in the Book of Job, is a complete and satisfying explanation. It's not that God causes suffering, but rather He is gracious and loving enough to make it count. He will use our suffering for our good, even if it's not immediately apparent. The weight of glory that God will bestow upon His children in heaven is so great that it's beyond comparison with the suffering we experience in this life. To know God, the locus of infinite goodness and love, is an incomparable good, the fulfillment of human existence. This perspective helps me understand why God might permit suffering, even for good people. It's not that He wants us to suffer, but rather that He wants to actualize a very good world, one with the great good of incarnation, atonement, and redemption. In this sense, God's reasons for permitting suffering are not necessarily about benefiting the individual who suffers, but rather about creating a world where the suffering can somehow be turned to their own good. This is a difficult concept to grasp, but it's one that I believe is rooted in God's perfect love and goodness. It's not that He's distant or uncaring, but rather that He's working out a plan that's far greater than we can understand.
Sources:
on guard
william lane craig
warranted christian belief
alvin plantinga
jesus on trial
david limbaugh
raising passionate jesus followers
phil diane comer
why does god allow evil
clay jones
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