Suffering 1 - Collecting the loose ends ...

Tuesday, June 1, 2010. It was a nice May, the green of the trees was gorgeous. Water vapor lingered in the wet air, while the rays of the sun heated the soil. The nature seemed so perfect, so vivid, so indestructible. Yet, a friend of mine was walking with pain in his heart through the beauty.

Ignore Suffering?

When you suffer, then suffering is real and obvious. Suffering cannot be ignored. When we suffer, we know that our world is not perfect. Then, our emotions can be like a furious storm, like a wavy sea. When we suffer we know: our world is full of suffering.

Yet, we also like to ignore the suffering. Our mind does not like the suffering. It does not like to think about it. It does not like to imagine it. In fact, we fear suffering. That is a very natural reaction. This fear tries to keep us away from things which might harm us. Yet we have to realize, that suffering is there in the middle of this world.

How do we think about suffering? Is it just an accident? Is suffering an integral part of this world, or does it not belong here? Is the “normal” state a life without suffering? Should we ignore it? Or should we integrate it into our life, into our thinking, our emotions, our philosophy, our idea of what life is and what life is meant to be? How does the bible treat suffering? How does God think about it?

Suffering close by and far away

Before we go into further discussion about what suffering might mean and how we can deal with it, we need to realize the facts. How much suffering is there in this world?

It is shocking to realize the facts. Every second, one person dies as a result of starvation, 4000 per hour, 100.000 people every day. Suffering is not only a fact. There is a deep and heavy cry of the people suffering on our planet. We live in a rich world, yet we live in a world with a lot of suffering.

There is suffering far away. And there is suffering close by. Even if all our neighbors and colleagues and friends have enough to eat, there are illnesses which desolate our body and our mind. In the middle of flourishing landscapes there is pain and death. But there are many things which do not directly lead to death. Loneliness or mental suffering, a missing perspective, a life without love, without appreciation …

I have been trying to comprehend both the beauty and the pain of life. It is quite challenging to have both in my mind. It is interesting that the bible can help here, to be both realistic and balanced. It knows the suffering, and it knows the greatness of God's creation. God is the great comforter, the big helper, he is the future in the middle of darkness. And he is the lord of lords, the king of kings, when it comes to the treasures of this world or to its limits. ... more texts