TheChurch, Pain, Suffering, and Hope

#ChurchLife #Church #Ministry #Discipleship #ChristianThought #Pain #Suffering #Loss #Ministry

“If a thing is free to be good, it is also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible. Why, then, did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having.” ~~C. S. Lewis

This past week has been emotional for those living in Texas and those witnessing the compounding effect of tragedy, death, loss, and pain due to the waves of attention from public figures upon the events in Uvalde, Texas. Pain, suffering, evil, and mourning are ever-present before us; the line by William Butler Yeats may summarize the sentiment held by many, “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.”[1]

What are we to do in light of pain, suffering, and evil as a Church?

The Church shares the pain. The central element of the Gospel message is for the brokenhearted. There is nothing more devastating than to lose a loved one to the firm grasp of death, much less through a tragic end such as murder, especially the murder of innocent children. Rightly do we read the Sermon on the mount, as Jesus taught, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”[2] No amount of prayer will bring back those taken from the families and communities that loved each and every victim. God is more than able to bring comfort and peace in the middle of unspeakable acts of evil.

The Church shines the light of the Gospel. It is easy and perhaps an expected response by culture as a whole to express a semblance of support by statements such as “prayers,” “lifting prayers,” or “sending prayers.” Truly prayer is the cornerstone of the disciple’s life, as it connects us to the Triune God in His heavenly abode. Jesus again teaches us, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.”[3] The Church is not to hide the message that brings eternal life but must utilize it as the foundation for work. Counseling, Spiritual Care, Ministry of Presence, Feeding Services, and Acts of Service.

Jesus Christ compels the Church to be the conduit for healing by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Church is to showcase God’s love. Inspired by God, the Apostle John aptly writes, “We love because He first loved us.”[4] The Church is not a lobbying mechanism for political messaging. The Church is more excellent than that; it is the body of the resurrected Christ in the middle of a dark and decaying world that yearns for peace and perfection that God alone can give. So each disciple is to live in a manner that both glorifies God and exalts the excellence of love. The same Apostle writes, “Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.”[5]

Dear Ones, the world may appear to be well, but it desperately needs the Gospel to give people hope and joy through difficult and painful circumstances.

[1] “The Second Coming,” in The Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats, (1989). [2] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update (Mt 5:4). (1995). The Lockman Foundation. [3] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update (Mt 5:14–15). (1995). The Lockman Foundation. [4] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update (1 Jn 4:19). (1995). The Lockman Foundation. [5] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update (1 Jn 3:18). (1995). The Lockman Foundation.