The Cornerstone

It seems that very few of us appreciate the value of pain and suffering while experiencing it, although many can speak of good lessons learned afterwards.  Certainly, the question of “How could a good God allow so much suffering?” would be on anyone’s top ten “Why?” questions to ask God.   Yet some of us spend more time trying to avoid suffering than trying to understand it.  It seems we don’t value suffering very highly.  Obviously, no one (masochists excepted) likes pain.  But perhaps greater than the immediate pain is the pain that comes from the confusion when we cannot find the purpose of pain.

Yet, if we know anything of the God of the bible, we know  that the same God who numbers our hairs and does not allow a sparrow to fall to the ground apart from his will, also allows great suffering to be experienced by most everyone, including His chosen people.  Even the Apostle Paul, whose numerous personal examples of suffering are described in Acts and 2 Corinthians, described some of these times as being “under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself.” Suffering to the point of despairing  must have been very difficult, yet Paul says, “but this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God.” It’s true that we cannot always know the particular purposes for our suffering, we can always know this purpose of not relying on ourselves, but God.  I think of this purpose, of relying not on  ourselves, but God as being like “first base”.  Perhaps we won’t be able understand more until we get to this place, first.

When I noticed a revised and expanded edition of Surprised By Suffering – The Role of Pain and Death in the Christian Life, by R.C. Sproul, I decided to give it a read.    R.C. Sproul is a very able teacher and I was pleased with the balance of theology and biblical illustrations as well as personal illustrations from his life and family heritage.  I was also pleased with the breadth of the book, covering everything from faulty theology (“It’s not God’s will for you to suffer…”) or the benefits of suffering for the sufferer or secondary benefits for others who might be observing, to the final act of suffering – namely, dying in faith followed by the resurrection and life after death.  Indeed, two thirds of the book is devoted to death and  dying followed by subjects of the resurrection and afterlife.

Originally, I was surprised at this emphasis, but quickly came to appreciate the necessity of the whole picture of life, death and resurrection, especially in light of the Gospel’s answer to the question of suffering and afterlife compared to other worldviews.   Since virtually every human culture has developed some form of hope in life beyond the grave, it was enlightening to be led through a brief overview of ideas from Plato, Socrates, Kant and eastern views as well.  All of which provided the background in which to contrast the teachings of Jesus and the New Testament on resurrection and the afterlife.    Truly, as Paul says, “If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

Steve Barry

Surprised By Suffering by R.C. Sproul; Hardback, 156 pages; $15.00 retail, $12.00 Cornerstone price