#137 Constellation of Diseases
The question is why does God allow suffering and death. It is vitally important, I think, to reassure the parents and their child that they did the right thing by talking about it and to assure them of God’s love. This question poses itself as a question of whether or not God loves George or not. It ought to be clear to all Christians that God loves them. Consider John 3:16 for the believer. The fact that God gave up His own son says a lot about His character. 1 John 4:19 also says that “We love, because He first loved us.” Our capacity to have and experience love is a result of God creating us in His likeness.
But once that has been cleared up you can address the doctrinal question. Which is, why does God allow suffering and death at all? Death came into the world through sin, death and suffering are natural outcroppings of Adam and Eves first sin. It is not a punishment that God put on us but rather the natural result of humanity moving away from God. Lambert discusses this as a category of sin called “Suffering and Death.” Lambert writes that, “If we do not trust the God of the Bible who has revealed himself to be good and strong, then whom will we trust?” Yes it is hard for us to accept that God allows us to experience suffering yet there is not an alternative. The love that God gives us is so much greater than the suffering that it pales in comparison. Yet for George and his parents it does not feel so straightforward.
The next issue is that of anger. George has a lot of good reasons to be angry, his parents do as well. Anger is not sin by itself but it ought to be pointed in the right direction. In Psalm 7:11 we even see God become angry. If I were asked to counsel George this is where we would likely spend some time. Because anger that is aimed at God is likely also coming out towards other people too. George and his parents need to know that there will be suffering in this life yet God is near to them Psalm 34:18. That this life is not the end but the beginning God has saved us for eternity and suffering today pales in comparison. Finally Psalm 46:10 calls us to be still and realize who God is.
Heath Lambert, A Theology of Biblical Counseling: The Doctrinal Foundations of Counseling Ministry (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016), 253.
Heath Lambert, A Theology of Biblical Counseling: The Doctrinal Foundations of Counseling Ministry (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016), 256.
