The Problem of Pain and Suffering

As a pastor it was often my duty to stand at the bed of a man, a woman and sometimes a child suffering great pain and loss. Some were feeling this pain because of an illness or the death of a loved one, others because of an accident and some because of a foolish mistake or judgment. I remember attending to a physician in the ER. He had been attempting to diagnose his illness and treat himself only to be forced to deal with the fact that a man who tries to be his own physician is an idiot. As a result he was seriously ill and even close to death.

There are many reasons for suffering and pain, but beneath them all are the dark questions: Why? And, Why me? And further, Is God punishing me?

I invite you to join me in these next weeks as we seek answers to these questions by searching God's Word about suffering as it is preserved in the Book of Job. There is an adequate introduction to Job in the Wikipedia article on Job. You may wish to peruse it. We will, however, go beyond what that article says as we walk chapter by chapter through this ancient book.

Leon Bonnat's Job

Who was Job? Some say he was an historical figure. Others say he is a literary fiction created by one of the prophets.  I view Job as an historical figure. This is based upon the fact that the prophet Ezekiel speaks about him.

"Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and break its supply of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast, even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord GOD. - Eze 14:13-14 ESV

"Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, to cut off from it man and beast, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness. - Eze 14:19-20 ESV

Again James writes about him in the New Testament.

As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. - Jas 5:10-11 ESV

Ezekiel saw Job as a faithful man of God, equal to Noah who with his family survived the flood and Daniel who survived being thrown into a den of lions. James in turn views the man called Job as an example of patience amidst suffering. He calls him steadfast, a man of perseverance, enduring all his suffering, but never questioning God's purpose for his life. This is the man who has much to teach us all. We will walk with him in the next weeks and invite the Spirit to open our hearts to the lessons of faith that Job has to teach us.

Running With Endurance

I'm still working through John's rock-solid introduction to The Revelation of Jesus Christ. He writes,

I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. - Rev 1:9 ESV

Tribulation and patient endurance! These themes echo again and again in The Revelation:

"'I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. ... "'I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. - Rev 2:2, 19 ESV 

Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. - Rev 3:10 ESV 

And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name." Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. - Rev 14:11-12 ESV

 The Apostle Paul recognized the importance of endurance as well:

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, - Rom 15:4-5 ESV

Just today my wife and I began to make plans to celebrate our upcoming wedding anniversary. I suggested that we go to a local steak house. Now you don't have to ask me to endure the eating of a fine steak washed down with a good mug of my favorite beer. Endurance applies rather to things like my heart bypass operation several years back and the later recovery process. Our spiritual life in Christ is more like that than Sylvia's and my upcoming anniversary celebration. God's Word does indeed speak of Christ's return to carry us as His bride to celebrate in the Father's house. Even now the wedding feast is ready. But we have not yet reached the king's dining hall.

"The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, "See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast."' ... Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.' - Mat 22:2-4, 8-9 ESV 

Meanwhile, however, we face opposition, conflict, temptation and—what's John's word here?—tribulation ! He calls himself our brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance. The parallel word for tribulation is persecution, something I wrote about in the immediately previous blog. We have great enemies out there in the world, enemies led by the prince of this world (Eph. 6:12; John 8:44; 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). And they do not back down.

Aware of that reality we need to teach and preach the truth about the Christian life. Yes, there are victories. Yes, there are miracles. Yes, Jesus is with us always. But tribulation, opposition, conflict and suffering in both body and spirit are ours as well. But let us not be discouraged. Listen again and again to the apostles as they offer encouragement in the Name of the Risen Christ.  

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. - Heb 12:1-3 ESV

By Faith We Claim The Promises To Noah

We're looking at the Hebrews letter's list of men and women of faith. The purpose is to teach us that it is only by faith, that person to person trust, that we are able to please God. Today we come to Noah. 

By faith Noah, warned by God about events as yet unseen, respected the warning and built an ark to save his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir to the righteousness that is in accordance with faith.—Hebrews 11:7 NRSV

"Warned by God about events as yet unseen . . ." What do you make of that phrase? The phrase reminds us that history is His story and that He is intimately involved in all that happens to us and to our world. When Paul was invited to address the Greek philosophers of Athens he emphasized the point that God made the world and continues to direct all that goes on within it.

“Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.  The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands,  nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things.  From one ancestor[i] he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God[j] and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us.  For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’ Acts 17:23-28—NRSV

Paul teaches us that we are like fish swimming in the ocean. For them saltwater is their natural habitat. In turn, on a much higher level, the Lord of heaven and earth continually gives all of us life and breath and all things. He is our natural habitat. Moreover He guides the destiny of nations, allotting each its period in history and the boundaries of the land in which they live. In Him we live. In Him we move. In Him we have our being.

But the Lord did not merely make the world and all in it for Himself. He longs to share it with us and to bring peace, joy and happiness to us who are created in His image (Gen. 1:26-30). He wants us to thank and praise Him in return. This is why He put us in charge of all that He has made. This blessing brings great joy to us both.

God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. —Gen. 1:28-30 NRSV

But what had happened in Noah's day? The whole world had gone after other gods. They worshipped themselves and the things that God had made instead of Him. They no longer walked in faith. This was the reason for the judgment of the flood.

The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created—people together with animals and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord. —Gen. 6:5-8 NRSV

Only Noah and his family found favor, because they walked in faith. In that faith Noah built the ark and waited patiently for the Lord's plans. What a significant encouragement for us all. Give yourself to the task assigned to you. In due time God's judgment will come upon the wicked unbelievers. We know not the day and hour. Nor did Noah. But for a hundred years he labored on. He did all that God commanded him. In the end he and his family were preserved. The promises given to them are ours to claim as well.

The Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done.

As long as the earth endures,

seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,

summer and winter, day and night,

shall not cease.” —Gen. 8:21-22 NRSV

How The Devil Does His Evil Work

As noted in my previous post, Jesus took Satan seriously and urged us to pray daily that we be delivered from his schemes. Two questions arise from such a prayer. What are the schemes of the devil? In other words, how does he and his minions go about their devious work? And the second question, how does the heavenly Father deliver us from the evil one? We focus upon the first today.

The best way to understand Satan is to examine the Biblical examples. The three temptations of Jesus in the wilderness serve as a summary. Note well that Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan.

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ... And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." - Mat 4:1 ESV

Jesus Tempted - by James Tissot (1836-1902)

Earlier I wrote about the word used for being led or brought into situations where we might be tempted:  Why Do We Pray, "Lead us Not Into Temptation." I urge you to review that blog. As I said there, "The Father does not take us out of the world, but rather permits us to be tempted in order that we may grow in faith and trust. He wants us to grow up in Christ. This is part of the discipling process, the training for life here and now AND for the life we will live in the age to come."

Satan's temptations can be divided into three major categories:

1. Lust: putting bodily appetites above all else: And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." - Mat 4:3 ESV 

2. Impatience: trying to manipulate God: Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, "'He will command his angels concerning you,' and "'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'" - Mat 4:5-6 ESV

3. Idolatry: tempting us to worship other gods: Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." - Mat 4:8-9 ESV

The biblical word for lust (epithymia) refers to any strong bodily appetite or desire, including hunger, thirst, hate, coveting, and sex. A second word, passion (pathēma), complements it. That word may even refer to the sufferings of Christ, as well as the suffering one who follows Christ may have to endure. But in its negative usage, it refers to the pain and anger that arise when you are frustrated and unable to satisfy any bodily desire or appetite. So Satan or the demons assigned to us urge us to do whatever it takes to satisfy our appetites. Give in to those urgings and you will be led to complain, mock, steal, commit adultery, find sex outside marriage, hurt others bodily and even murder. Follow that path and you will ultimately receive what you ask for. God gives you up to the lusts and passions of your sinful heart (Rom. 1:21-32).

The Biblical opposite of impatience is makrothymia, translated as patience or in the KJV as long-suffering. It is what the Children of Israel were unwilling to exercise when they complained about being thirsty and having no food in the wilderness. They did not trust that the LORD would care for their needs. Instead they grumbled and quarreled with Moses (Exodus 17:1-7). Other ways of putting God to the test include living recklessly or taking extreme risks in sports. Taking dangerous and extreme risks financially could also be included. 

The third major category of sin is idolatry. New idols constantly arise to promise anything and everything from fun and excitement to riches, power and glory. An idol is anything that takes our focus away from the LORD God who has revealed Himself to us in His Son Jesus. Many would make money or sex and pleasure their gods. Fame, power, glory and prestige are worshipped by many others.   Almost anything you can name has and can become a god. Jesus went so far as to point out that we are even in danger of making our families into idols or gods. 

"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. - Mat 10:34-37 ESV

Satan's temptations are subtle, hidden and dark, but always present. This is why the Apostles remind us to "be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." - 1Pe 5:8 ESV

In my next post we will consider how the LORD God delivers us from these temptations.

When Being Married Hurts

Making a lifelong commitment is wonderful on your wedding day when you are in love. But then come the difficult days and 'this ain't fun no more'! In truth, divorce and getting out seems the only real alternative. But is it—really? The danger in those moments is to give up. Its not working out. It never will. Its too hard. There has to be another option.


There is. In faith a Christian couple takes hold of this promise: 

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). 

To know is to trust in the promise of the Savior who has redeemed you both. With prayer and the help of fellow believers, perhaps your pastor and maybe even a professional counselor, the pain of your deteriorating relationship can be relieved. New ways of communicating can arise, new understandings. You can learn the meaning of forgiveness and patience.


We who have been married for a long time—in my own case over 50 years—know that it isn't always easy. The pressures and the temptations come from our own selfish and careless desires. They come from the godless and idolatrous world around us. They come from within the Christian community. They even come from our families—all too often, it seems. In those times our hearts scream out, "Get me out of here. Oh God, now!" But it seems that He doesn't hear. He ignores our prayers and leaves us to grapple and struggle with the situation.


Why? We love Him. Why does He leave us? Why doesn't He answer?


In those moments I urge you to take hold of His promise: all things work together for good.  All things? Yes, He is using even this for your good. In those moments we are with Jesus again in the Garden. "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me." The wine was bitter. It was vinegar and He did not want to drink it. "Please, oh Father please. Must I?"


And then came the moment of submission. ". . . nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will" (Matthew 26:39). And in that nevertheless the path to our salvation became secure. He carried the grief of our rebellion and disobedience. He was willing to be separated from His Father. He was ready to endure the hell before Him. He was prepared to die.


That's what marriage is all about. In this relationship we are given, yes, we are gifted with an opportunity to be faithful to that one person in particular whom God has given to us. And in accepting that opportunity we are saying back to God that we believe in Him, that we trust Him. We are acknowledging that He is and always will be faithful to us and to all His children redeemed upon the cross. In marriage we have another opportunity to follow Him, another wondrous opportunity to share His redeeming love. That's why the Apostle writes these words,

"Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband" (Ephesians 5:31-33).

This is the pattern, the template, the model, the design for marriage. There is no other love like this anywhere. In forgiveness and in faith we learn about His love again and again. In forgiving our spouse and in accepting forgiveness for our own stupid failures, we rediscover what Paul writes about. We discover and rediscover time and time again the profound mystery of God loving us in Christ. Nothing, nothing at all can or ever will separate us from that love. This time of trouble cannot. Nor can our failures, our financial or physical distress, not even the danger of death we may have to face (Romans 8:38-39). In His love we discover the power and the strength to commit ourselves to the well being of our spouse and nothing short of death can break that bond.


Yes, I know. I'm speaking about an ideal that is not always there. Marriages, also marriages of Christians break up. Christians divorce. I need to say something about that another day. For now, think about what I have written. 

 

Sustained by the Word of the LORD

This morning I opened an email from an old friend who wished a happy Thanksgiving. It had pictures of turkeys, cartoons and other paraphernalia connected with the uniquely American holiday. Here is one.

It wasn't until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November. So our family is set to gather in south Texas for the celebration, along with millions of families across the nation.

It is also customary for American Christians to gather for a worship service of thanksgiving, often on the evening before Thanksgiving Day. The O.T. lesson appointed for a general thanksgiving service is Deuteronomy 8:1-10. The lesson is part of the instructions Moses gave to the Israelites who had just spent 40 years in the wilderness of Sinai. Now they were set to enter and occupy the land the LORD God promised centuries before to Abraham and his descendants.

For 40 years the LORD had tested their faith and trust. He wanted to know what was in their hearts. In this desert they had no bread, but were fed with the mysterious manna six out of seven days of every week. As He said, the LORD did this so they may clearly understand that "man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD" (Deut.8:3).

This is a critical lesson for our country and our day, especially when you consider that "bread" is but a symbol for all the things we need to live and prosper in the land the LORD gives to us. It makes me wonder how many people will even bother to give thanks for all the bounty of this land. How many are ready to acknowledge that we live "by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD"? For that matter, what does the phrase mean?

Here's a quick answer. God's revelation tells us that all of creation came into being, not by chance, but by God's Word. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." How? Again and again we read, "And God said" (Genesis 1:3,6,9,11,14,20,24,26). In other words, the universe was created out of God's creative mind by His Word. He speaks and it comes to be. So Moses teaches us all to recall that we and everything that exists, continues by the wondrous creative power of God's speaking, His Word.

The even deeper mystery is what we find in the Gospel of John as we discover that the Word is a Person and that Person is the second member of the Trinity, even Jesus Christ. John writes, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made"(John 1:1-3).

The coming of Jesus into human flesh is intimately tied to our faith that He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. In Him we have not only human existence, but a new life, a new birth and a hope that we and all creation will one day be completely set free when our Creator and Redeemer returns (Romans 8:18-25). On that day we and all creation will be set free from our bondage to corruption. Until then we wait expectantly, in hope and with patience.

Eternal Life Here And Now

Over the years I've used many different approaches to the study of the Bible for both personal and professional spiritual growth. For instance, when I served full time as a parish pastor I spent most of the week studying the texts for the upcoming Sunday's liturgy--the appointed OT lesson, Epistle and Gospel lessons. More often than not, liturgical churches of many denominations used the same lessons. I usually preached my sermon on one of those same lessons. My study then served to strengthen my faith and, in turn, allowed me to share what I was hearing from God's Holy Spirit with my parishioners.

More recently I've been working my way through one of the Gospels--in the original language. While I have studied both Greek and Hebrew I've never felt I was a master of those languages. And in these days I do not need to be, because some wonderful helps are available either on CD, DVD or online. One of my favorite online resources is the Blue Letter Bible. One doesn't need to be a master linguist to use that website, I find. Of course, it is most helpful to be able to read the languages, but beyond that the work of discovering things like the tense, verb form, etc. is all done for you. A less extensive, but nevertheless helpful website is Bible Gateway with all those translations by which you can compare how others viewed the passage before you.An approach I've been using this summer is to read a book by a systematic theologian in a devotional manner. That is to say, I've been studying a couple theologians' works very carefully, meditating and pondering the Scriptures quoted as I do and opening myself to the guidance of God's Spirit for my personal life. The book I'm currently using is from the Confessional Lutheran Dogmatics series, XII: The Lord's Supper by Dr. John R. Stephenson. As I read Dr. Stephenson's words today I was very comforted when he pointed me to the words of our Lord Jesus recorded in John 17:3:

"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.""Eternal life," writes Dr. Stephenson, "is not merely a future state, but rather the one true life whose fullness we already possess, albeit hiddenly. Along with His presence in the other means of grace, Jesus sacramental presence sustains the struggling, pilgrim church as a prolepsis of His future parousia."

Now there you have it, a sentence by a theologian with mysterious words and phrases like means of grace, sacramental presence, prolepsis and parousia. I'll do my best to translate and share why this became so important to my heart this day.

When Jesus comes to us, he comes through means, not directly out of thin air as some suggest. He comes to us through His Word, our Baptism, His Supper, the words of forgiveness spoken by another believer and through the words and thoughts of others based upon His Word. These are the means by which His grace and mercy enter our lives to strengthen and confirm our faith.

The Bible further teaches that the same Jesus who was crucified upon the cross of Calvary is present in the Lord's Supper. In this Supper He is as bodily close to us as He was to Mary and Joseph, His disciples and apostles. In His Supper He meets us to comfort and encourage us with His presence.

The Supper thus becomes a prolepsis. In it we have a foretaste of what is to come - we with Him and He with us forever. Meanwhile we await His parousia, His return in glory. However it has been two thousand years that we have been waiting. Where is He? The answer lies in the promises and reminders from the Apostle Peter (2 Peter 3:8-9):

"But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."
It's coming. It truly is. This is as certain as the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. Meanwhile, we are not anxious. We already have eternal life in Him. He has claimed us. We are His. He is with us, here and now in bodily form in the Supper as He says, "This is my Body . . . my Blood." So we are patient, because we knows He wants everyone to come to repentance and find in Him the joy that we already have.

The wonder is we have so much to look forward to. So we join the early church in that prayer spoken in the Aramaic language used by Jesus: Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus. Come back and make all things new. Come Lord Jesus. Come even now in the blessed Supper to be with us, to comfort and strengthen us for the journey that still lies before us. Be for us the Bread of life, our Manna in the wilderness. Come, Lord Jesus, come!