Why Does God Allow Evil, Part 6 - Afflicted But Not Abandoned

Summers in Annapolis, Maryland are the closest thing I've experienced to glory. Beauty abounds, with the sun gleaming over the Chesapeake Bay, sailboats and kayaks lining the water, green parks with gorgeous flowers and stately fountains flanking bicycle paths and walking trails, and all the history and action of Washington D.C. just a metro ride away!

Even more significantly, when I'm in Annapolis I feel like I belong. I'm greeted with hugs and smiles (and even shouts of joy) from dear friends and family. I spend time with people who share my interests, passions, and values. I feel comfortable just being myself because I know I'm accepted and loved for who I am. I enjoy the activities that people commonly do in Annapolis, and our family is so large and well-connected in that area that I never doubt I will be provided for in every situation, whether I need a trustworthy car repair shop, a gluten-free meal, a specific type of clothing, a good laugh, or a listening ear and wise counsel.

Following a recent brief stay in Annapolis, I headed southwest to Woodstock, VA to say good-bye to my father-in-law, his body ravaged by cancer, and then south to Boone, NC, where I had lived for less than ten months and still felt like an outsider and a wanderer. As I left the warm embrace of Annapolis and entered into the realities of suffering and death, fear and anxiety, loneliness and isolation, and sin and separation, I thought of Jesus.

For all eternity past, Jesus had lived in perfect intimacy, unity, and happiness with the Father and Holy Spirit. He hadn't experienced "something like glory"; He had experienced perfect glory itself. Yet he voluntary gave up perfection in order to take on flesh and enter into this broken, sin-filled world, not to endure desolation in Boone, but to endure crucifixion in Calvary.

Before arriving at that appointed hour on the cross, Jesus - the only completely innocent man ever to live - was born to a humble family under apparently-scandalous circumstances,1 limited by a weak and finite body,2 tempted in every way as we are,3 surrounded by egregious sin,4 daily misunderstood and unappreciated even by his own family,5 demonized, scorned, rejected, and abused by the leaders of his community,6 and betrayed and abandoned by those he loved, taught, and served for his entire public ministry.7

Then came the hard part. Jesus was tried unjustly, found guilty of blasphemy, whipped, mocked, scourged, stripped of his clothing and dignity, and hung on a cross, where he not only endured a death so horrifically painful that a new word was created to describe it (excruciating, from the Latin cruciare, to crucify), but, far worse, he endured the wrath of God for every sin committed by every person who would ever come to know him as Lord and Savior - past, present, and future.8

This life is hard. We are promised adversity, sorrow, and suffering.9 We are told to take up our cross, lay down our lives, and put to death all inclinations toward self-centeredness and pride that come so naturally to us. We experience disease, betrayal, criticism, rejection, abandonment, scorn, shame, filth, and death. And the longer we walk with the Lord, the harder life here becomes.

But in the midst of the pain and suffering, followers of Jesus are comforted with the truth that our greatest problem has been taken care of by God Himself. We will never have to endure the wrath of God because He has done it for us! Our suffering is confined to this short life alone, and when it's over, eternal glory awaits us!

Because of what we humans have done, we suffer now, but because of what God has done, our suffering is only for a little while, measured and restrained by the sovereign God who gave what was most precious to Him so that we may live. Therefore, we can say with Paul, "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."10 For in this life we will have trouble, but take heart. He has overcome the world, and a new and perfect "Annapolis" awaits us!11

(For more, see Why Does Allow Evil, Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5)

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[1] Luke 1:26-38

[2] John 1:14

[3] Hebrews 4:15

[4] Matthew 23

[5] John 7:1-5

[6] John 7:1

[7] Matthew 26

[8] Matthew 27; 2 Corinthians 5:21

[9] John 16:33

[10] 2 Corinthians 4:8-9

[11] John 16:33; Revelation 21-22