A Paper I Wrote

“If God were good, He would wish to make His creatures perfectly happy, and if God were almighty, He would be able to do what He wished. But the creatures are not happy. Therefore God lacks either goodness, or power, or both,” (Lewis 26). People doubt the omnipotence and righteousness of God by questioning why He did not make a world for His creatures where suffering does not exist, or why He does not avert sin from creating pain. The free will granted humans by the Creator has been abused, and the once perfect human state has been damaged, hence human suffering. Yet God utilizes pain for the ultimate good of his creatures; he replaces deserved condemnation with hope.

Though God absolutely could have chosen to make a world where humans could not sin, any inhabitants would be lacking one of the greatest gifts bestowed upon the human race: free will. However, God did form a world that was perfectly good and without suffering. It was not until Adam and Eve decided to disobey God that pain entered into being. They were initially blameless, yet their free will included the possibility for sin: “for freedom must entail that the free person can decide his own way – and it may not agree with God’s way,” (Boyd 46). In order for humans to truly love God and each other they must have the option of hate available to them as well. God cannot give humans free will and restrict ability to sin. This does not mean He lacks power, but because the state of being free and the state of being restricted contradict each other; “meaningless combinations of words do not suddenly acquire meaning simply because we prefix to them the two other words ‘God can,’” (Lewis 28). Thus, God has chosen to respect the freedom He granted people.

The spoiled image of the world today is but a ghostly reflection of the perfection and glory which resonated from its original state. Adam did not have the weakness of a propensity to sin like mankind does now, nor did he have any lowly attraction in his environment which might have lured him away from his God. It was not a struggle to adore and obey God, for Adam was fulfilling his purpose. He could clearly perceive that what he loved was to glorify his maker. His identity, his joy, his passions, and his consciousness all came from God. The only possible distraction between Adam and God was Adam himself, with the emphasis on self. There was nothing separating them until Adam chose to disobey for the first time, thereby redirecting his focus from God to his self. Once sin entered Adam, he and God were separated because God is pure and cannot be a part of sin. No longer in perfect harmony with the only source of life, goodness, joy, and love, life instantly became of a lesser quality for Adam, and it only continued to decay through the generations. The natural inclination of the soul has been reversed from a desire to worship the creator to a desire to idolize the creation, the self. There are a plethora of men and women considered morally decent by society, yet no one actually is, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23 ESV). All choose to sin, therefore all choose to bring pain upon themselves, and God would be justified in leaving all to condemnation. What amazing grace it truly is then that the perfect and just King of the universe loves and adores the most unworthy and marred beings of all His creation!

The next logical course of reasoning is to ask how God can be good when He allows the outrageous suffering that innocent people endure daily. Why did the almighty willingly surrender His right to interfere when He knew humans would use their freedom to harm themselves and each other? “Good” is possibly one of the most difficult to define adjectives in existence. Characteristics sufficient to convince one group of people that a man is good might convince another group of just the opposite. Proponents of abortion would look at a doctor who performs abortions and see a hero helping women out of unfortunate situations. Antiabortionists would view that same doctor as a murderer. With this inconsistency among humans, it must be assumed that the human understanding of good in general is incredibly inconsistent with what is good for God. As the Omniscience, God’s wisdom is unquestionably higher than any man’s; “for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts,” (Isaiah 55:9 ESV). It is entirely possible in God’s infinite knowledge that He knows pain will cause humans some greater good and for that reason allows the temporary sufferings of this life out of His goodness.

A child might understand his parent’s wisdom when they refuse to rescue him from a predicament in order for him to “learn from the experience.” However, unless his parents have undergone the same type of hardship he will not necessarily love them for their goodness towards him. He might even resent their inability to identify with him. A god who is wise but does not know how pain feels can hardly empathize with those he allows to suffer. God however, does know pain. On the cross not only did Christ undergo horrendous torture, He carried the sin of the world on His shoulders as well. He bore all the pain there ever was and ever will be in this world. God is not indifferent to the sorrow of His creatures, He “[grieves] over every evil and every suffering,” (Strobel 46). He does not watch humanity cry out from heartache and dismiss the anguish because its value of maturing faith. He knows what it is like to feel betrayed, alone, broken, and in agony. He is the God “who suffered our pains, who offers himself to us in the midst of our sorrows,” and that is a god worthy of both respect and adoration (Strobel 46).

God empathizes with each and every hurt, and He is with each soul, ready to provide comfort and strength for every trial if hearts are willing to receive Him. He is there for His children; “many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord,” (Psalm 32:10 ESV). He is not “watching from a distance!” God is near, and He lovingly embraces the hurting soul like a mother with her child. He offers His presence to soothe the trembling heart. When someone is going through hardship and suffering, an intellectual explanation for the pain is not what they want from their friends. They want their loved ones to be with them. People are “terrified of being alone more than anything else. So God has not left us alone,” (Strobel 52).

God is all powerful, and out of his goodness he blessed the world with the freedom to love and experience true love. It was mankind that brought suffering into the world through sin, but God has forgiven the offense and freely offers that forgiveness. He even uses the pain that human sin causes, and turns it around to give grace and mercy instead. The sacrifice of Christ was the deepest act of love anyone could ever give, and yet He gives more of Himself with every new day. This is a spoiled world filled with both guilty men and innocent children. God does not take His people out of this brokenness; instead He comes into it bringing love, peace, and joy for every open heart.

Works Cited
Boyd, Gregory, and Edward Boyd. Letters from a Skeptic. Colorado Springs: Cook
Communications Ministries, 2004.
Lewis, C.S. The Problem of Pain. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1962.
Strobel, Lee. The Case for Faith. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 2000.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Wheaton: Good News Publishers, 2003.