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The ultimate purpose
Lyn: Sam, it’s easy to question God for not fixing something that we needed to be fixed. But what if solving one problem would create a worse one for someone else? For example, you may pray for a fine day for your golf or your family barbecue, or even your church picnic, but farmers might be crying out for rain.
Sam: Well, I then guess it’s goodbye to the barbeque.
Lyn: So, Sam, you are now saying that it is all right for God to stop you enjoying yourself if it’s for someone else’s good?
Sam: Yeah.
Lyn: Then what about our overall lifestyle? What if our prosperous lifestyle in this country means poverty in another? Should God intervene to make us share our wealth more than we do?
Sam: As long as it’s not mine!
Lyn: Very funny. All I’m saying, Sam, is that if we expect God to intervene to prevent one person’s suffering, shouldn’t we also be willing for him to prevent another person’s prosperity? We can’t have it both ways.
Sam: Mm, I suppose you are right, Lyn.
Lyn: More than that. Sometimes suffering is necessary to produce success. Like dipping sheep in a foul-smelling pool to kill the bugs that otherwise might kill them.
Sam: Yeah, I get that. Like saying no to our kids because, in the long run, they’ll be better off.
Lyn: Or being forced by a plague to find a cure that will save more people from perishing in a worse pestilence later on.
Sam: Mm, so sometimes we need to take a long-term approach.
Lyn: Yes, the question really is, ‘What is God’s overall or ultimate purpose?’. The Old Testament patriarch Joseph once said to his brothers, ‘You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good’. To bring it down to a personal level, the Bible says, ‘We know that in everything God is working for good with those who love him and are called according to his purpose.’ When we know there is a higher purpose in what is happening, it is easier to understand why it is happening.
Read: Psalm 73:18-28; Romans 8:28-39.
What next? Which verse or verses really stand out to you from these passages? Why?
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Why doesn't God do something about suffering and trouble? This ancient question is still being asked today. Doesn't God care? Jesus suffered for us and was well acquainted with grief. Christianity was born in suffering and the Bible has much to say about it. This Bible Plan features lively coversations between Lyn and Sam who raise provocative questions and offer intriguing responses.
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