August 7, 2011  (Pentecost 8 A)

Romans 8:18-25

“All Loving God + All Powerful God = All this Suffering??”

“Hey Christian – you believe in an ALL powerful God , and an ALL loving God – and yet the world is full of suffering and pain.  How can you explain that?  It doesn’t compute.  Either He’s not loving – and he just doesn’t care about what’s going on here day after day . . . . or . . . . he can’t do anything about it.” 

Have you heard something like that?  Have you wondered about this yourself?  The equation of an all loving God + all powerful God doesn’t seem to fit with this world of suffering we see all around us.  Well, today we’re going to examine that question / that objection.  The first half of the equation requires no time at all – OF COURSE God is a God of love.  The Bible tells us God is love.  It tells us about His brand of pure and holy love that is boundless.  There’s no question God is powerful – He called this universe / time and space / matter and energy / laws of nature / life and beauty / the interdependent complexity that continues to astound anyone who examines it . . . . He called ALL that into existence (from nothing) by the POWER of His Word.  There is nothing He can not do.  

So . . . can you blame God for the death and decay / corruption and suffering that fills this planet?  I’m guessing most of you would say “no” – “Blame sin.  Blame Adam and Eve.  Blame people that do horrible things – blame EVERYONE – just don’t blame God.”  But, take a look at the words of our text from Romans 8 today.  We’ll start at verse 19 and go into verse 20: “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration [literally: emptiness / futility / corruption – the STATE in which everything we know in this world is stuck in], not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it . . . .”

God locked this world into a state where everything is frustrated; everything gets old and falls apart and dies (including us).  Wherever there’s life – there’s also disease and death.  Animals attack each other, kill each other, and devour each other.  Weeds grow everywhere.  Mosquitoes bite, so do spiders and snakes, sometimes sharks and bears even eat people. 

Why did God do this?  Why does life have to be like this?  The Bible DOES have answers for us – and I’ll try to squeeze them into a simple illustration we can all understand: Imagine a “shocking” scenario: a child makes a foolish mistake and gets in trouble with Mom and Dad.  Mom and Dad ground that child.  He is confined to his room without any fun toys and gadgets, and stuck there with his thoughts and boring old books he doesn’t want to read.  Is he happy?  Nope.   He’s probably angry at Mom and Dad – why did they have to impose such a heavy sentence?   In reality, is it Mom and Dad’s fault that he’s stuck in the room?    Nope.   He caused the situation.  Mom and Dad simply enforced the consequences.  In fact, they enforced the consequences only because they love him.  

Now, step back for a moment and consider this: Does our Heavenly Father have a good reason and plan behind sticking planet Earth in a state of frustration and decay because our first parents ignored His command and sinned against Him?  Oh yes – He knows exactly what He’s doing!  Notice the next verses in our lesson: “[He did this] in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”

The suffering, pain and frustration of life in this world is a consequence of sin (which contaminates everything) and . . . . something God actually uses in His powerful and loving plans for us.  Here’s a secret that we Christians have discovered (one that remains a total mystery to so many people): suffering and pain is NOT humanities arch enemy and the horrible villain that most people think it is.  Good parents who love their kids cause them pain all the time – loving discipline is a necessary part of their job.  When “that kid” finally gets out of his room, he cherishes the freedom and privileges he has, and he knows it’s not worth breaking the rules anymore – he’s learned something powerful!

So . . . . is pain a good thing?  Yes, I think you can say that.  Because of sin – we NEED it.  You need that pain reflex when you touch the hot stove – it protects you.   That stubborn man would never go to the doctor unless the pain finally got to him.  Pain tells us that something is wrong.  And – we all experience pain in all sorts of ways, all the time.  So . . . . connect the dots!   PAIN (in your life / in your body / in your relationships) is proof that something is wrong – with YOU!  

You are a sinner.  So am I.  We need a Saviour – a Great Physician who can heal the root cause of all our problems and fix us.  His name is Jesus – and just look at what He did: He stepped into this corrupt / warped / frustrated world and lived here with us.  He knows what pain and suffering is like on a scale we can’t even comprehend.  Did His suffering and death have a purpose?    OF COURSE!     It was the only way our sin and guilt could be paid for – it was the only way to get sinners into the perfection of heaven.  The price had to be paid, so Christ paid it in full. 

If HIS suffering and pain had a plan and purpose behind it . . . . does yours?   Our text enlightens us – we’re that kid stuck on a miserable “time out” in a world of frustration and suffering and decay – we can’t wait to get out, and to get to a NEW WORLD – this world of freedom, glory and life.  Romans 5:3-5 explains our different attitude on suffering so beautifully: “[Now] we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”

Suffering and pain keep us clinging to our Saviour by faith, and close to Him so we don’t forget about what’s truly important and lose our salvation – and, it keeps us longing for the NEW LIFE Christ has promised and won for us.            I could stop right here.              But . . . . I skipped one important verse that adds so much to this discussion: Romans 8:18 “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

Let me try and explain what God is telling us here: I’m going to throw out a number – and, if you watch the news at all you’ll know what it is: 14.5 trillion – and counting.  That’s the US national debt.  All sorts of people have tried to explain how much money that is using (for example) pictures of money stacked up over all these football fields, and to a height of the Stature of Liberty.  It’s simply a number we can’t get our heads around.  A trillion has 12 zeroes behind it.  Take a million (which is a big enough number!) and take a million of them, and take 14.5 of those – and you get this staggering figure. 

Now . . . . here’s some pocket change.  (Some coins: loonies / toonies / quarters / dimes / pennies.)  Compare what’s in my hand with the US national debt.  Sure, it’s also currency, but you can’t even really compare them.  Here’s my point: The change in my hand is the suffering we have to endure here.  The vast growing trillions is the glory and riches of heaven that we can’t even comprehend. 

People here in this world are so quick to complain.  It seems that some suffer so much more than others.  “Why do I have to deal with ‘loonies and toonies’ and THAT guy has nickels, dimes and pennies to deal with?”   Do you get the point?  We’re squabbling over pocket change!!   Sure, the older we get the more “loonies and toonies” are going to hit us . . . . but . . . . you simply can’t compare it with the glory that waits for the believing heart in heaven. 

So – let’s take that equation I began the sermon with and change it a bit: All loving God + all powerful God = all this SALVATION!!   All those souls rescued from death and brought to a whole new life that never ends!

So . . . where does SUFFERING fit in?  It’s just part of God’s complicated and loving plan to get souls from this world into His.