tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post161448331676516795..comments2024-03-27T15:47:46.091-05:00Comments on Pastoral Meanderings: Suffering as the ultimate evil...Pastor Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-53307016410220903202012-09-10T14:17:42.924-05:002012-09-10T14:17:42.924-05:00George, you are surely correct in distinguishing v...George, you are surely correct in distinguishing various causes of suffering (without even mentioning the suffering that comes from our own sins and errors). What I was trying to point out is that is has become the expectation of many, if not most of Americans, that life should not include any suffering at all. This is certainly an expectation far from the reality of life even 50-75 years ago, much less centuries ago.<br /><br />While it is true that we can and perhaps should avoid the involuntary suffering you speak of, we do this to a matter of degree and not as a means of avoiding it completely.<br /><br />Finally, we have certainly not dealt with the Biblical idea of suffering that participates in Christ's suffering as Paul talks about. This suffering is just as painful but has redemptive purpose and effect in us.Pastor Petershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-41020137477214200892012-09-10T13:57:09.887-05:002012-09-10T13:57:09.887-05:00Dear Rev. Peters: Although I don’t disagree with ...Dear Rev. Peters: Although I don’t disagree with a word you have written, may I offer these additional thoughts:<br /><br />I think that Scripture will bear out that there are fundamentally two kinds of suffering. Unless we understand this, we will, on the one hand load ourselves up with undeserved guilt, and, on the other, run the risk of misunderstanding our Lord’s will for His children.<br /><br />The first kind is the suffering caused by the brokenness and imperfection of all creation. Pain from injury, illness, broken relationship, hunger, thirst, and a raft of others belong in this class. Within reasonable limits, there is nothing wrong with trying to avoid these or to assuage them. Even our Lord, the suffering Servant, said, “I thirst” on the cross. Further, there is no merit in seeking these out. In most cases, doing so is a sign of psychological imbalance, as we see in “cutters”, people with eating disorders, and masochists of various kinds. There were even some “enthusiasts” in the early days of the Church, who volunteered for martyrdom, because they thought this would earn them merit before God.<br /><br />The other kind is more problematic: it is the voluntary suffering for others, or denying oneself something so that someone else may suffer less. This is what our Lord did for us. Although His death on the cross was the epitome of His suffering, it began at His incarnation, when He made Himself subject to all of the suffering human beings undergo. I think we will all agree that this kind of suffering is more difficult than the first kind, in part, because it is so easy to avoid. The priest and the Levite in the Parable of the Good Samaritan are examples. It is so easy to say, “most of the money we contribute will be stolen,” or, “if they only straightened out their government, they would have all the food they need,” or, “he’ll just spend it on drink”, or, “I don’t do well visiting people in a hospital,” or, “I cannot live in this family any longer,” or any number of others, some of which we can actually rationalize into virtues.<br /><br />Even the regenerated children of God have difficulty subjecting themselves to this kind of suffering. But part of the life in Christ involves growing in sanctification, through prayer, attendance at services, use of the Lord’s Supper, meditation, and finally, just by doing it. Because our future has been assured, our life in the Kingdom does not need to be for ourselves, it is for the “least of His brethren.” In that way we too will be able to share in the joy of our Lord, “who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame …” (Hebrews 12:2). <br /><br />Peace and Joy!<br />George A. MarquartAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com