justice & love in the face of suffering

Recently, I have been deeply considering what the Bible says about suffering, as each day, it seems like we are being surrounded with increasing amounts of pain and brokenness in the world. The question of why God allows suffering is a huge dilemma that has crippled believers and non-believers alike since the beginning of time. My hope, in this blog, is to bring to light some of the findings that have brought me comfort in this time by looking into the relationship between God's justice and love.

Before going on, I invite you to consider these questions:

1. Are we assuming we know what God knows?

2. What is your definition of God's justice?

3. What is your definition of God's love?

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So, what is justice?

According to the dictionary definition, justice has to do with fairness and equity. So, for people who have done something wrong, there should be consequences to their actions, right? Let's consider what the Bible says about who exactly deserves punishment.

Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."

Oh dear. The Bible is saying that we ALL deserve to be punished and for God to enact his justice upon us. This reminded me of the Great Flood in Genesis 6-8, where God wipes "from the face of the earth the human race [he has] created- and with them the animals, the birds, and the creatures that move along the ground- for [he regrets] that [he has] made them." (Gen 6:7).

But, where is love in that?

Genesis 9:11 "I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

This is God's covenant with Noah, after the Great Flood (which comes with a rainbow!). In it, we see how God values us greatly. We are his creation, and we are even made as a reflection of his image (Gen 1:26). It grieved him to send the flood, and he was deeply troubled (Gen 6:6). It was not his purpose or his plan to simply wipe us off the face of the planet every time that we sin- instead, he wants us to be drawn near to him. Let us dive deeper into the relationship between God's justice and his love.

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God is just, but justice is not that simple.

The book of Job asks huge questions about God's sense of justice. Job is a righteous and good man, but one day, everything that God had previously blessed him with suddenly vanishes- his assets, children, wife, and finally his own wealth. As anyone would, he asks the question of "Why?" and together with his friends, discuss what must have caused his suffering. Job accuses God of being unjust, while his friends accuse Job of being a horrible sinner, therefore deserving to suffer. What are their assumptions here?

1. That they have enough knowledge about the world

2. That they know enough about God

3. Justice is a "black and white" idea

This is what God says to Job:

Job 38: 4 "Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?

Tell me, if you understand."

Job 38: 18 "Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?

Tell me, if you know all this."

Who are we to judge the way God enacts justice on the world if we ourselves are merely imperfect humans? In his suffering, Job did not come to know why this happened to him, but he realized that we live in a world that is both good/beautiful and evil/dangerous. It is not hard to see the sin and brokenness. As sinners ourselves, we have surely inflicted some degree of suffering on someone. So, as we can clearly see, our current state in the world is not designed to prevent or be without suffering. (For more on Job, check out the book itself, or the Bible Project's video on the book of Job here)

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So, in light of the current suffering in the world, where do we see God's justice? And, where do we see his love?

If God was only just, he would be a cruel and savage dictator. If God was only loving, none of the injustices in the world would be dealt with. Both outcomes imply unsatisfying pictures for us. But let's remind ourselves of God's covenant with Noah (Gen 9:11). We clearly see that it is NOT God's intention to simply let all the people in the world be punished and suffer with no hope of the future, nor will he let all of our sins go without consequence. Additionally, this "punishment" is not simply a fine, or some jail time. In Romans 6:23, it says that the wages of sin is DEATH. Not just physical death, but spiritual death, meaning eternal separation from God. What could he possibly do to save us?

Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates his love (and justice!) in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

We can see God's justice and love for the world in the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus Christ. He had to suffer one of the most painful deaths, and he did it willingly because of his love. Instead of leaving us alone in our brokenness and suffering, he took our place and our sins on the cross and redeemed us.

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Wow. This is amazing! In Jesus' sacrifice, God upholds his standard of justice while bridging the gap for us to have eternal life instead of death. And when we choose to believe in Jesus Christ, we are able to be set free from our deserved punishment of death.

Let's look at one final passage, where Jesus is questioned about some Galileans who had suffered gruesome deaths in the hands of Pilate:

Luke 13:1-5 "Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered,“Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent,you too will all perish.”

So, we don't have a final answer on why exactly God allows suffering. We are not God and we don't know everything about him or the universe. However, like Job, we can trust that we have a God who is with us and loves us in our suffering. We can trust that we have a God who desires justice for the world. Therefore, we ought to examine ourselves, and as Jesus tells us to, repent of our sins. Only then, do we experience the freedom and joy of knowing a God who sympathizes with us in our weakness (Heb 4:15), is an ever-present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1) and gives us hope and eternal life in Him (Rom 6:23).