Let’s say someone considers himself not a run-of-the-mill Christian. He’s been trying to be good, and he’s been trying to do good. If Christianity means filling up the forms and leaving no boxes unticked, he’s done a superb job in this area.
Then, you ask, in spite of all these, why do good people like him still suffer?
Good people. There is a sense in which we may misunderstand the term “good.” The Bible says no one’s good but God (Matthew 19:17). If a man is said to be “good,” he is such only according to the world’s standards. But back to the question: Why do you, or I, suffer?
First, It is because the Lord wants me to exercise my freedom to bear or not to bear. That is not an off-the-cuff answer.
The Son of God, for instance, was free to choose, but He chose Calvary and its cross. And in choosing, He bore it all—the pain, and the humiliation of having to undergo that pain at the hands of the people He had created, and the painful thought of dying at the hands of those whom He had given life. Pause here for a while and think… Think of this as you are being shamed and disrespected by the very child who owed you her life…Do you see the analogy?
So, to suffer is your choice. In having to suffer you must feel free. Not even God is going to take that freedom away from you.
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