The current series at Sunday School has been about pain and suffering. I am a slow processor so I thought i would do my processing on here and allow you to add any comments/suggestions :)! This past Sunday we were talking about how we understand pain and receive comfort in struggle from four different rationalizations of pain. (Disclaimer: This is how I understand this. I do not want to mis-convey anything the speaker said.) These four different rationalizations include: (1) Job’s story – the idea that God is God and that He is big and in control. We just need to deal with the pain because God is sovereign. OR (2) Free will – the idea that we cause our own pain and suffering, OR (3) Good parent – the idea that pain is a form of discipline/training to make us better – that we would learn something from pain, OR (4) the idea that Jesus suffered and that God suffers when we suffer. We were asked to identify which of these four rationalizations were most satisfying to us. Many people in the group were satisfied with the idea that Jesus has suffered and is there in the suffering. For me, I thought that the good parent rationalization was most satisfying to me because I feel that there is a reason for pain and that there can be something learned from that. As I continued to process this throughout the class, I wondered if this is really true? One of my roommates, Bridgette, was killed in a car accident almost two years ago. I remember at that time not wanting to admit that I could possibly learn something or benefit from her death. I guess this is where I struggle with this pain as a form of discipline rationalization because why should I benefit from someone else’s strategy. So, I haven’t figured it out and haven’t any answers, but I’m enjoying just trying to process this whole concept. I think it is something that we will process forever. Can we ever grasp the idea of pain and suffering? What do you think?
One thing that did stand out to me, the speaker quoted someone who when asked “Where is God in the suffering? He said God was there, but we should really be asking where is the church?” I think is a very true statement and we as the “church” need to step up and begin healing the wounded hearts of people.
