Christians, You Will Suffer

I had a brief interaction with an atheist on Twitter a couple of weeks ago that unexpectedly turned to the issue of suffering when she said:

You clearly never had a time you were hurt. I don’t mean sick. I don’t mean heart broken. I mean literally a near death experience or rape or abusive relationship…. You can keep floating on a [expletive] cloud thinking Jesus will do everything for you but it’s a lie. What makes you so special?

That surprised me at first because it didn’t seem to have anything to do with the tweet she was responding to, and I was confused as to why she would assume I’d never been through anything traumatic. But then in subsequent tweets, when she revealed she had been raped, it became clear that her trauma had played a central role in her becoming an outspoken, obviously angry “antitheist.” She’s a self-described antitheist now because she thinks Christianity teaches Jesus “will do everything for you” to give you a perfect life, and now she knows that’s a lie. The rape proved her understanding of Christianity false.

So it made sense for her to reason that since I believe Christianity is true, I must still be under the delusion that Jesus is making my life special, which means I obviously never encountered any evil or suffering to shake that delusion.

Hear me, everyone: This is a failure of the church.

A friend of mine who was deeply suffering once said to me that many Christians are in for “an epic letdown” when they realize their preconceived notions about what God is expected to do for us are false. Pastors who preach a life-improvement Jesus are leading people down this precarious path to disillusionment.

If suffering disproves your Christianity, you’ve missed Christianity. The Bible is filled with the suffering of those whom God loves. The central event of the Bible is one of suffering. Love involves suffering. “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” That means suffering.

But Christianity also promises justice for evil. And grace. And life from death. Resurrection. New bodies. Hope. Jesus is the only hope for true pain. Without Him, there’s nothing left to do but rail against God with the most perverse insults imaginable.

The truth is that even if you’ve been taught these things, a time will come when an experience will make this real to you, and then you will struggle to learn how to entrust yourself to God when you can’t trust He’ll protect you from pain and tragedy, can’t trust that things will get better. The only thing you can trust is Him. That He is good. That He knows what suffering is. That if He was willing to give His son over to death for us “because of His great love with which He loved us,” then we know His love won’t stop there—He’ll withhold nothing else from us that we should have. The good He seeks for us is to reveal Himself and conform us to the image of His Son. We will suffer no pain without purpose.

Go to the Christians who learned this before you—Richard Wurmbrand, Elisabeth Elliot, Joni Eareckson Tada, Helen Roseveare, Corrie ten Boom, Kara Tippetts—Christians who learned through torture, death, disability, rape, terror, and terminal disease the truth of Paul’s “secret” to facing a life of pain: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

I said to the atheist, “Those who suffer know Him better,” and I meant it. He is the God who knows suffering. He is the God who suffered. He is the God who works beauty through suffering. He is the God who resurrects.

Comments

[Allan]

Dammit,
I get so angry at Christians that don't study the bible.
If you don't study the bible , you will have almost NO understanding of why you are here on earth now!

Do you really think that you are suppose to really have it good here on earth, and if you don't, God is willing to run up to you to give you 100 bucks to pay your gambling bill or whatever. Do you think Giod is just waiting on your beck and call, to help you out of any thing YOU think you want better??????

God did NOT put you here you you can have a good time! You are not on a guaranteed happy vacation here on earth.

wake up Christians!!!!!!! You are only here to find out if you are going to be saved or sent to the lake of fire. If you read the bible you will find this out.

God is here to help guide you, only if you ask for help, but He expects you to stand up and be a man (or woman) and work at it yourself, He is not a genie just waiting to grant you wishes. You have to be trying as much as you can, and then He will help or guide you some on the right path.

You are here to prove to God that you are found worthy of going back to Heaven. God is purging Heaven of satan and satans trouble makers.

If you read the bible for yourself, you will find this out.

Good luck everyone I pray you all wake up

[scottspeig]

Very good conversation KWM, WL & GH5! I'm enjoyed it! :)

Just to be clear on which side I'm leaning on:
KWM / WL - Are you saying that because God sustains all things and therefore has to agree with causation for it to work that He is ultimately in control? Therefore all evil has to be causally agreed by God for it to occur? Or are you wanting something stronger?

Presumably you would then have to give a similar answer to William Lane Craig that God has morally sufficient cause to allow the evil to happen?

GH5 - While you state that God freely chooses not to be in control of our wills, is it not the case that God can intervene at any point?

[deb]

Having experienced rape when a man entered my home when my son was only 7 months old, I get it! I was an angry woman for years and blamed it on God! The anger, rejection, bitterness, abandonment, and loss were proof that there was no God - and if by chance there was a God, I surely knew he didn't know what love was. I despised Christians and their sickening talk. I lived in that dark place for 20 years until I was finally broken by circumstances that piled on top of me until my stubborn spirit was crushed. That's when I realized that God is loving! That God is NOT the enemy I thought He was. He is a God of order and 100's of promises. But, He is also a Gentleman and doesn't go back on His promises. Since my initial 'moment' of understanding who He is, there have been many horrendous events that I've gone through - including the deaths of two husbands. But I know now what I didn't know when I was raped...that in this world where the enemy is satan, I/we will experience terrible things. It isn't the God who loves me/us to blame, it's the angel He loved so much who has taken on this world to deceive. How easy it is to blame God - sorta like bullying. And, I know there are many Christians (I could be one) who don't tell the whole story. But, I pray that I show myself as a REAL person especially to those who don't know yet that Jesus is the only way. I have led groups where women have encountered abuse in many different forms. These women are growing closer and closer to the only One Who can heal them. We are all taking something awful that happened and using it to help others. It's a win/win. There's no other way other than the grief, anger, bitterness, denial, etc., that the true enemy would want for us. With all the trials, when knowing Jesus - there is JOY. When I was a non-believer I didn't know what that was. Now I know that it's something that comes when one opens self to Jesus. Some receive this Joy through a dream, through nature, through a word/person, through an experience. It's all very personal. It's like trying to explain what a specific color looks like to a blind person. I am thankful there were many people (including my Mother) who never gave up praying for me.

[Jeremy Melberg]

"He(God) is good, but He is not safe"

[Mo]

"Hear me, everyone: This is a failure of the church."

I'm sorry, but I have to disagree. No one who reads the Bible - even just the New Testament - can come away with the idea that Jesus makes your life always happy and pain free.

I suppose people can be in a church where they teach such falsehoods. But again, aren't self professing Christians reading the Bible at ALL? I don't understand this.

And real life doesn't match up to this anyway! Even if you've managed to avoid major tragedies, if you live long enough, you will eventually know a devoted follower of Christ who has suffered deeply!

"That He is good. That He knows what suffering is."

This is the one thing that has kept me going during my times of deep suffering.

I don't know of any other religion where a god has suffered the way our God has.

There are many things I can't understand. But I know Jesus suffered deeply, more than I ever will! And that gives me comfort and strength to hang on.

[RAYMOND EIFLER]

God gave mankind free will so that mankind can make the choices they want. There are good choices and bad choices and without seeking Gods guidance in your life you will make many bad choices and suffer the consequences of your actions. God wants you to make good choices and Prayer is the way we communicate with God, so pray often and pray about every thing. God is always there to hear your prayers. Jesus said "Knock and I will open the door". If you "go it alone" don't blame God for bad results.

[Jan]

I think that there's confusion within the Church regarding God's sovereignty, and how it plays out in our lives. I'm posting a link to Ligonier's website and a resource page, "Is God in Control?" It explains all this in light of reformed theology. It's worth investigating. http://www.ligonier.org/learn/collections/god-control/?mobile=on

[paul]

Thank you Amy. Your post has moved my heart to trust God more.

[Jim]

Amy--The best little book on this subject is Ray Comfort's book titled--
God has a wonderful plan for your life-----Under
this title on the book's cover is a picture of
Stephen being stoned to death----This book nails
this subject cold!----Jim