For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have. Philipians 1:29-30
One of the biggest questions in philosophy and Christianity is the question of “how can a good God allow bad things to happen to good people?” . We lack the human understanding to process the full impact of a single decision. There are so many things in our life that are affected by the fallen state of our world. These are all pretty oft-repeated answers. We hear almost trite answers about the effects of sin (which is true), good people being incapable to overcome the effects of the decisions of bad people (but what about God’s role in all this?)
How can we address this as a serious question within the church today? How do we explain the suffering that Christians go through in various areas of the world (and throughout history) simply for how they choose to believe?
How do we explain and share a Christianity that is devoid of suffering, that flees from suffering? I like to be comfortable as much as the next person, but How do I reconcile that with poverty, abuse, human trafficking, lack of basic human needs such as clean water, food, and shelter?
How do we counter a false gospel that states that states “because you had little faith, you suffered. I have comfort because I have faith”.
We live in a messed up world of suffering. How are you going to respond to the need?