From the Pastor's Study
From the Pastor’s Study
The Need for a Theology of Suffering
August 24th, 2022
Last week I was speaking with a pastor friend, and he said that Reformed Christians have not developed a very robust theology of suffering. Is there purpose in suffering? Should we seek suffering? How does God use suffering? These are questions that we do not have a ready answer for, and probably for good reason. Those who come from a Reformed tradition have not experienced much suffering. We have our foundation in the Reformation, which began in the early 1500s, and in those 500 years most Reformed Christians have had to endure very little suffering. We caused enough of it over the years, especially when we consider the plight of the Anabaptists the 1600s in the Netherlands, but, by and large, we have suffered very little. When life became difficult, it has been the practice of many Christians who have their roots in the Reformation to simply leave. This is not necessarily wrong, for the church as described in Acts spread rapidly as Christians moved from their homes to avoid persecution. But, for the most part, Protestant Christians have suffered very little.
This is not true of the Roman Catholic Church. Although we have the same ancient roots as they do, founding ourselves on the New Testament church, our memories are somewhat truncated, rarely going back before 1500. Roman Catholics (and the Eastern Orthodox churches) have a much longer memory. Moreover, the Roman Catholic Church has congregations in almost every nation of the world, and some of their members have endured great suffering from which they could not escape. Thus, the Roman Catholic Church has developed a more robust theology of suffering in which they go so far as to say that as followers of Jesus Christ, there might be times when we go so far as to seek suffering.
Not having a strong theology of suffering has left us rather vulnerable, especially in a rapidly changing world where Christians, who once used to dominate, now have become a minority. It is very unlikely that the western world will return to a place where Christians are respected and their opinion is sought. It is far more likely that we will be even more marginalized than we are now, and when marginalization occurs, persecution is often quick to follow. (I am making predictions, of course, and I could be wrong. I may also be right.) Sadly, if we do have to face persecution or, indeed, suffering of any sort, we are not well-equipped to understand it. If we can’t flee to another place to avoid suffering, then it is possible that we will flee the very thing that is the reason for our suffering, our faith in Jesus Christ. This is not without precedent, for the recipients of the New Testament book of Hebrews were contemplating doing that very thing. The author of Hebrews pleads with them to not abandon Jesus Christ even if that means that they will continue to suffer.
I do not propose to develop a theology of suffering here. I don’t have the experience or the knowledge to do such a thing; that is the work of the larger body of believers. Nevertheless, we must understand that suffering is not a sign that God has failed us. Again, this mentality can be found in the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments when God’s people accused him of not caring or of being too weak to help them. The biblical authors, moved by the Holy Spirit, in response, emphasize that when God’s people suffer, this is not a sign of God’s failure. Rather, it is in suffering that we can experience God’s faithfulness.
I think we can all agree that when we are blessed with good health, prosperity, and a peaceful life, that these are from God. We thank God often for our blessings. I have a friend who would exclaim, when things went well, “There is a God!” It is easy to see God in our blessings. I wonder if my friend would be able to say the same when things did not go so well, when life became difficult.
If we begin to suffer for the sake of Jesus Christ, will we be able to see God in spite of our difficulties? Or are we so used to praising God only in good times that we might fail to see him in difficult times? This is a question that we might be forced to answer if things continue in the direction they seem to be going.
A robust theology of suffering would help. Being able to say that God can give purpose for suffering and that he can work through suffering will enable us to accept and perhaps even welcome those times when things don’t go so well.
I don’t propose to develop a theology of suffering, but one of the basic principles regarding suffering, as is taught in Scripture and as has been experienced by the church through the ages is this: suffering, because it strips away a lot of what we have, enables us to see and depend on God more fully. Some of us have experienced that very thing when a loved one, perhaps a child, falls seriously ill or is injured. When that happens, as some of us know, we have learned to depend on God even more, for we discover that there is no one so faithful as he is. On a broader scale, when Christians lose their homes, their livelihoods, maybe even their family or their lives, they discover that God is yet very real. That doesn’t necessarily mean that we should seek suffering, although some do just that, but, rather, when things don’t go so well, we should be in the position to understand that God has not abandoned us but that he will sustain us, and we open our eyes to his provision. We have a strong theology of blessing, and maybe it’s time to develop our theology of suffering, for God is as much with us in our suffering as he is with us in our blessing.
Pastor Gary