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Why does God allow humanity to suffer?

Pain and suffering have been a part of mankind's history since day one. Throughout the millennia, humans have been suffering every kind of evil, pain, death and anguish that could exist. The question is, "WHY?" Why would a loving God allow humanity to suffer, and especially, why would God allow His own children who follow Him to suffer sickness, financial hardship, death, and all that has occurred over the years since Adam and Eve were first kicked out of the garden?

The very fact that evil exists seems to be proof to many that God doesn't exist. They reason that if He is really an all powerful being, and really loved humanity, He simply wouldn't allow the pain and misery that encompasses the world to occur... He'd stop it. Is this a valid reason to question God's existence? Is it reason to doubt Him, question whether He really cares or is watching human affairs and very much involved?

Why would a loving God allow such evil to occur... such pain and suffering to happen to "good" people?" The key is this: God is allowing mankind full free will and the right and chance to create a world without Him involved with their lives. WHY? Two basic reasons... 1. 1/3rd of the angels rebelled against God and chose their own way of thinking and acting above God's teaching and influence. 2. Mankind followed this evil example and influence. Why did 1/3rd of the angels, and all humans chose the wrong way? It is because both were not completed creations, and were lacking training and experience.

The creation of the earth was for our training ground. God wants mankind to have total free will to chose our own way... create our own religions, social systems, health systems, education systems. He is allowing mankind to do what they want to do... like a parent allowing a small child to eventually touch a hot item to learn that what the parent was saying about it was true, and to allow the child to experience the pain of a wrong decision. Mankind is making wrong decisions daily, and each wrong decision has a penalty, sooner or later, for that person or for others around the world.

God wants mankind to learn their lesson that life without God's power and guidance leads to destruction and pain. How else can God make sure we learn right from wrong, good form evil? Is there any lesson better than experience? The child that continuously comes close to a hot stove, or is told not to do something, yet is always disregarding those teachings... and burns his finger... learns there is a penalty to disobedience, learns that the parents were trying to protect the child, and yet the parents know full well that allowing the child to make its own decision, disregard parent authority and pay a penalty brings a great lesson.

That is how God is dealing with humankind. Every human has sinned...

Rom 3:23 23 "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...

Sin is wrong thinking, and in order for God to bring humanity into the very image of Christ, He and Christ must mold and shape our character, mind and thoughts to eventually be like theirs, and this takes time, experience and suffering. Like a potter working with clay...

Isa 64:8 "But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter ; And all we are the work of Your hand.

Jer 18:5 5 "Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 6 "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter ?" says the LORD. "Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!

Lam 4:2 "The precious sons of Zion, Valuable as fine gold, How they are regarded as clay pots, The work of the hands of the potter!

The Father has a plan He and Christ are working out. This plan involves free will and choices. He wants mankind to be able to eventually, as spirit beings, make right choices forever, and not turn like Satan and some of the angels did. Testing and trials work in our lives toward that end. However, anyone who is awake on this planet can see that mankind is resisting God and driving themselves in their own direction, with their own choices.

Isa 29:15 15 "Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the LORD, And their works are in the dark; They say, "Who sees us?" and, "Who knows us?" 16 Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; For shall the thing made say of him who made it, "He did not make me"? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, "He has no understanding"?

Rom 9:20 20 "But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, "Why have you made me like this?" 21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?

God does have power over all human life, but He is allowing mankind to learn from our decisions. The entire planet will eventually be brought to the brink of total destruction...

Matt 24:21 "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.

God will allow mankind to reach the point of no return... the point at which without His intervention, all flesh would perish from the earth. Self destruction because of wrong thinking and acting. He will NOT allow this to happen and will intervene to stop this from happening... and it will be an impossible thing for mankind to ignore or disregard. Humans will not be able to say, "God, if we could only have had more time," or, "If we had the chance to..." Mankind will be without excuse...

Rom 1:20 "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools..."

Humankind is full of self, vanity, pride, ego, self-righteousness... and God is allowing it all to play out. He does reserve for Himself the choice to CALL some people out of this world's blindness, and open their minds to His laws, His plan and His power. This is His church, His called out ones, and they are being molded by the Holy Spirit, which is the power of the Father and Christ. Through time, trials, testing and experience, Christ literally creates a new creation in us... forming His own nature and mind within us... which literally transforms us. We become like Christ...

Rom 8:29 "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Notice what Paul says about his own sufferings...

Col 1:24 "I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church...

What can Paul possibly be talking about here? He clearly states there was something lacking in the sufferings of Christ. What is that lack? Here is the greatest truth about trials and human suffering regarding the true people and church of God...

  • Did Christ ever die of cancer or other disease?
  • Did He ever have heart disease, stroke?
  • Was He ever paralyzed in an accident and only had his arms or legs or neither to use throughout His life?
  • Did He ever fight and die in a war?
  • Did He ever suffer from the penalties of personal sin?
  • Did He ever lose a child to death?
  • Did He ever suffer from a bad marriage?
  • Did Christ suffer depression or commit suicide?
  • Was He ever molested as a child, raped or kidnapped and murdered?
  • Did He ever experience ALL the agonies of humanity?
  • Etc...

The fact is, Christ did NOT suffer those afflictions, but His church... His people DO, and it is THIS suffering that is perfecting the bride of Christ, "filling up that which lacks in what Christ suffered," and will serve in the marriage union with Christ to educate, support and help all humanity in the Millennium and those resurrected after it who DID suffer such things. Christ and His Bride, together, will be perfect parents, teachers, kings and priests, and WILL be able to understand what sufferings are all about and work to heal those who suffered such things, and more.

Pain and suffering is a vital part of the plan God is working out. It is not God who brings about the pain and suffering in most cases. It is our own decisions, other's decisions, time and chance, and some of God's correction that work together to bring about the greatest creative act in the universe... that of producing children of God. God allows these so that we will learn now, and have a lesson to look back on as an example of what wrong choices do to life.

See also the followings topics:

Who is Christ?

Christ's Pre-existence


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