Is Suffering Good for Christians - Research Paper Example

Religion and Theology Is Suffering Good For Christians The concept of suffering in Christian life has drawn a lot of attention in the analysis of many theologists today. While many feel that God protects the people from all forms of suffering and cushions them against any harm, it is evident that suffering is inevitable for every human being. Most theologists have come to associate suffering with symbolism arguing that suffering forms a crucial part of the Christian life that they must be prepared to bear. The concept of suffering started way during the time of Adam and Eve when they offended God in the garden of Aden. As a result, human beings are bound to suffer for the sins of their fathers. However, Jesus came to the rescue of human beings and throughout his mission alleviated the human beings from physical and spiritual suffering. Jesus suffered on behalf of the world and his close follower such as Peter followed the same path. Christian suffering today symbolizes their willingness to follow Christ and to draw closer to their creator. As such, the idea that prevails is that suffering is good for Christians as it is the bridge between them and God. Many religious scholars have come to link the concept of Christian suffering with the sin of man in the garden of Aden. In the Garden of Aden God, Adam and Eve live a life free of suffering prior to their sin against God. At the creation of the world, there was not any form of suffering such as diseases, accidents, death, poverty, or any other form of suffering. However, the sin of the first parents of man paved way for the entry of sin in the life of Man. On creating Adam, God ordered him to eat from all the trees and to benefit from every creation apart from the tree at the middle of the garden. The Serpent incited the couple to eat this fruit and the feel into the temptation only to realize that they had offended their creator. Disobedience of God’s command was the reason why they succumbed to suffering (Herion, Astrid, Freedman 23). Their life changes from a perfect life to one punctuated with lots of suffering for both man and woman. Most Christians have come to associate their own suffering with that of their first parents Adam and Eve that was the result of disobedience. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, He proclaimed punishment for their sins and this marked the beginning of suffering. For Adam, he condemned him to suffer by toiling for his daily living, working on barren land, diseases and all forms of suffering. For the woman, the lord proclaimed labour pain while bearing children. In addition, all human beings would die, unlike before when man death was not the fate of man. The permanence of the punishment of God is still manifested today. In the contemporary society, woman and man have to suffer while struggling to earn a living, cultivating unproductive lands, diseases and all other forms of suffering that hurt their living (Herion, Astrid, Freedman 24). The life expectancy of human beings continues to decrease and people are expected to live shorter lives in future. The prevalence of serious diseases such as Cancer and HIV and AIDS is a manifestation of human suffering today. Women continue to suffer in Child bearing and rearing especially when singlehood has become more common in the society. Many religious believes have manifested the human suffering with original sins of their first parents. Because their offended God, all human beings are bound to suffer as they are the descendants of Adam of Eve. The question that arises today is whether in contemporary lives there is any correlation between the Christian suffering and the concept of sin. Many theologists have embarked on Biblical analysis to identify whether there is any link between a sinful life and the suffering of many. While it is factual that the suffering of Adam and Eve resulted from their disobedience, it is not clear whether this applies in the modern Christian lives. From a close observation, all the human beings suffer irrespective if they are sinners or not. However, it is clear that in several instance God proclaimed suffering to the people because of their lives. For instance, during the time of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Lord proclaimed punishment on the people for their sinful life. During the time of Noah, God punished the people with floods because of their disobedience (Herion, Astrid, Freedman 120). In another instance, God punished the Israelites for failing to obey his commandments during their journey from Egypt to Canaan. These scenarios support the idea that human suffering can be a manifestation of God’s punishment for disobedience of man. This has led to the belief that sins result to the punishment of the people. For Christians an eternal punishment awaits sinners at the end of their life on the earth. In the New Testament, the Son of God Himself was tortured and suffered under the leadership Pontius Pirate. As prophesied in the Old Testament about the suffering of the Messiah by Isaiah, it came pass later as covered in the New Testament. Jesus suffered in various occasions (Jobes 132). Right from his birth, Mary had to move from place to place to ensure that He was safe from the king who plotted to kill. Jesus suffered in the wilderness during his 40 days of starvation prior to the moment he began his mission. In his mission, the people who beat him up and finally crucified him subjected him to suffering. The bible states that he died for the sins of humankind that he has hope of resurrecting again just as Jesus did. The implication of this is that Jesus provided hope for the people to come from sin and allow God to save their lives. This was part of God’s plan to save human beings from their sins and to provide hope to their reconciliation with God after the original sin. It is during this time that God promised that He would never punish his sinful people through suffering, either by fire or by water, as He had done before. It is reasonable to analyze the concept of suffering of the Christian from the suffering of Jesus Christ during His mission on earth. Before Jesus started his mission, he suffered in the wilderness from hunger as he prepared to pursue His tough mission. Jesus knew that His mission on earth would be tough and characterized by many challenges that he focused on a period of 40 days in the wilderness to gain courage and to prepare to pursue His mission. Since Christians are followers of Christ, they are bound to suffer as they pursue their missions on earth. The mission of Christians is to continue with the mission of Jesus, which he started during this time. Just like Jesus prepared by exposing himself to suffering, Christians must prepare in the same way as they continue to implement the unaccomplished mission of Jesus. In the Christian tradition, Jesus suffering in the wilderness manifests in terms of fasting during various periods of the year (Martin and Davids 43). For instance, the Catholic Christians have a period of Lenten when they forfeit meat and other meals in preparation for the mission of Jesus. Therefore, suffering forms part of human preparation in the work of Jesus Christ, the same way He prepared to handle his mission. Suffering for Christians is part of strengthening faith in God. When Jesus was in the wilderness, the Satan tested the faith of Jesus through three consecutive temptations. The Satan requested that Jesus test his God by climbing up the pinnacle of the temple and falling down. Secondly, the Satan required that He convert stone into bread to satisfy the hunger that he was undergoing during this moment of fasting. Lastly, he requested that Jesus kneel down so that Satan would give Him all the riches of the world. The Satan took advantage of a moment when Jesus was suffering to test His spiritual weakness. Jesus manifested His faith in God by denying the temptations of the Satan. In the same way, suffering is a way of strengthening their faith in God. For instance, it tests if human beings can remain strong in Faith even during period of strong temptations (Martin and Davids 121). When Christians are suffering, they are vulnerable to temptations and the Satan takes advantage of this moment to check the deepness of their faith. It is after people resist temptation during period of suffering that they remain strong in faith. The concept of strengthening Faith in suffering emanates from deep in the history of the Bible. In the Old Testament, God gave Satan the permission to test Job by inflicting suffering in his life (Jobes 211). This occurred when Satan claimed that Job had faith in God just because he God had made him wealthy, healthy and famous. Job lost all his properties and his health deteriorated. However, his faith in God remained steadfast and he resisted any temptation to condemn God for his suffering. The Bible depicts Job as one of the people who manifested strong faith in God during tough moment of trials. The Christians today are posed with similar challenges. Just like Job, they lose their properties and become ill as part of test of their faith. Those who are strong in Faith maintain their Christian lives and continue to pray. On the other hand, those people who lose their faith end up blaming God for their suffering. Many Christians have lost their faith in God when tempted by Satan. Many Christians have resorted to devil worshipping to earn wealth and worldly pleasures. However, Christians take sufferings as part of God’s way not only to test but also to strengthen their faith. In his teaching, Jesus postulated that Christian life is a life that involves suffering. In St, Luke’s Gospel, he told that the disciples that those who want to follow him must take up their crosses and follow him (Martin and Davids 178-184). The implication of this statement is that the Christian life is subject to suffering at each stage of their journey towards salvation. From close observation, the life of Christians is more difficult; it involves self-denial, readiness for persecution and a lot of suffering. As such, suffering is part of their responsibility to carry their cross in following Jesus Christ. In contemporary Christianity life, suffering is inevitable for Christians. In some countries, Christians have to suffer from attacks from enemies of religion, discrimination and many other forms of violent attacks in churches. In comparative approach, the sufferings of Christians of Christians are the same as those that Jesus persevered during his life on earth. Jesus received criticism and discrimination during his mission to save humanity. Therefore, suffering is good for Christians as it gives them the opportunity to share in the suffering of Christ as part of their commitment to follow Him. Suffering is the source of salvation for Christians and therefor it has a lot of significance in their life. Jesus had to suffer on the cross to save all humanity and to give hope for Christians to resurrect after death. Although Jesus was God, he was humble enough to undergo suffering to bring hope for humanity. Although it was possible for him to escape suffering, he opted to persevere torture and eventual death as part of his willingness to save the people and to obey the will of God to bring hope to the sinful people. When the disciples wanted to defend Him, he refused because he was willing to die for the sins of the people and to give them an opportunity to enter the kingdom of God. Therefore, suffering is a symbol of salvation of Christians and their suffering is a way of reciprocating to Jesus (Martin and Davids 197). Just as He suffered for their salvation, they must prepare to suffer on his behalf of his name. Suffering is unavoidable for those Christians who are willing to show their obedience to God. Suffering provides the Christians with the only opportunity to show their willingness to reciprocate the efforts that Jesus put to save them. A controversial issue arises in Jesus work of mercy during his mission on earth. Throughout his mission, Jesus worked miracles that aimed at healing the sick and alleviating suffering from the society. He healed the blind, raised the dead and healed the sick out his mercy for the people. This shows the commitment of Jesus to ensure that human beings come out of their suffering lives and live normally in their lives. This brands his image as the God of miracles and a God who alleviates the people is suffering (Martin and Davids 37-39). The fact that Christians suffer today raises the question why God should let His good people suffer while he is capable of healing them from these forms of suffering. Many people have questioned the Love of God on this basis. Theology teaches Christians that suffering is not an end itself but a means to get into the Kingdom of God. Jesus teaches on the temporality of the life on earth and the permanence of life in heaven. He advises that those who invest in happiness on Earth will lose the happiness in heaven. Therefore, the suffering on earth is not a manifestation that God does not love Christians, as they understand that true happiness exists in heaven and God’s love manifests in the promise of a happy life after suffering on earth. The concept of sin as the way that God asserts his presence in the lives of Christians prevails among the works of many religious scholars. Human beings are forgetful and often abuse the Love of God that gives them the free will to choose good or bad. The free will of God gave our fore parents the opportunity to choose between the good fruits and the forbidden fruits. Today, God gives people the freedom to choose following him or following earthly life. When people abuse this freedom, God asserts his presence through suffering in humankind. In the Old Testament, the Lord asserted his presence among the people during the time of Noah by killing them with water (Jobes 129). He intended to pass the message that the world had become a sinful place and the people had forgotten their creator. By inflicting suffering, God gives people the chance to retrace their path back to their Christian lives. Such moments give people the opportunity to remember God the source of their health, and happiness. For instance, the church encourages Christians to pray for all the sick since this is a manifestation of God’s presence. By calling upon God during moments of suffering, Christians move a step closer to Him. Therefore, suffering is good as it reminds the people of God’s mercy and opens an opportunity for them to turn to God. The disciples of Jesus provide a good example for the people to follow when they are following Jesus. For instance, the disciple became the next target of persecution after the death of Jesus. As the heirs of the mission of Jesus, they were bound to confront or the challenges of this mission and to worth through all difficulties. In their mission, they faced rejection from the people and many of them underwent persecution while proclaiming their faith in Jesus. This portrayed their willingness to pursue the mission of Jesus and the ability to persevere persecution in faith (Gaebelein, Douglas, and Polcyn 123). The term Christians means that they are the disciples of Jesus and are the heir of the mission of Jesus. Their willingness to carry out Jesus’ mission is equal to their willingness to suffer like the first disciples of Jesus. Today, Christians face the same challenges that the first disciples of Jesus faced. Just as James opted to persevere persecution, the Christians expect undergo persecution in their endeavor to expand the kingdom of God. In the Catholic Church, those people who have earned matyrhood are those who showed their faith in Jesus by persevering suffering while defending Jesus. Therefore, suffering in the life of Christians is part of their commitment to embrace the mission that Jesus handed to them after his resurrection. The suffering of the church leaders in Christian faith is a manifestation of their preparedness in accomplishing their mission of supporting the work of Jesus (Gaebelein, Douglas, and Polcyn 210). The suffering of Christian leaders manifests in different forms in the contemporary society. First, the sacrifices that they make in choosing to pursue the work of missionaries. For instance, the Catholic priests give up their family life and dedicate their lives to serve Christ. Other leaders forgo their business activities and dedicate their entire life to the service of the people. In some occasions, leaders have to live a life of poverty to serve the society. They work in harsh environments in an effort to spread the gospel to all the regions of the world. Some die while in the line of their duties while others receive criticism over their role. This kind of suffering is similar to the suffering that Jesus and his disciples had to persevere in an effort to save the world. From a critical point of view, Christian leaders must appreciate suffering as part of their mission in saving the world. Therefore, suffering is good for Christians as it is the only way that they can accomplish the work of preaching to the all the nations. In conclusion, suffering is good for Christians as it is the only hope for their salvation and the salvation of others. Through suffering, the Christians share the punishment of Adam and Eve for their disobedience to God. As they were the fore parents of all humanity, every Christian must be prepared to share in the suffering that resulted from their disobedience of God. Jesus too suffered during his life on earth and Christian suffering gives them an opportunity to share in the suffering of the Jesus Christ. Suffering provides them with an opportunity not only to test but also to strengthen their faith. Self-caused suffering results from their abuse of the Love of God that gives them the freedom to choose good or evil. When people sin God inflicts pain to the people to assert of His presence, and to give them an opportunity to revert to a Christian life. Additionally, it is the only way that Christians show their commitment to share in the suffering of their Savior and to proceed with His work of salvation. Therefore, Christians must be ready to confront illnesses, persecution, hurt, and all forms of pain in their work and in pursuing their mission in Christ. This gives the opportunity to share in the limitless happiness that God has promised in heaven. Bibliography Gaebelein, Frank E, J D. Douglas, and Dick Polcyn. The Expositors Bible Commentary: With the New International Version. Grand Rapids, Mich: ZondervanPublishingHouse, 1995. Print Herion, Gary A, Astrid B. Beck, and David N. Freedman. The Anchor Bible Dictionary: Vol. 6. New York: Doubleday, 1992. Print. Jobes, Karen H. Letters to the Church: A Survey of Hebrews and the General Epistles. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan, 2011. Print. Martin, Ralph P, and Peter H. Davids. Dictionary of the Later New Testament & Its Developments. Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press, 1997. Print. Read More