Probably the most succinct version of this question looked like this:
“WHY DOES GOD ALLOW SO MUCH PAIN IN THE WORLD?”

Great question.  Hard question.  It’s very personal.  These are the questions that make us sit and squirm in our seats.  They may even cause some bleeding in our hearts as well.

Curt broke down that while pain all comes from the same core, he split it up into what he called THE THREE PAINS.

PAIN #1 Pain is caused by POISON IN THE WELL.  The root of all evil in the world came from poison in the well.  (i.e. original sin).  But this point, as most good points, brings more questions with it.  Questions like:  “If GOD created everythinig – and GOD said that everything is good – then why is there evil?  Did GOD create evil?”

GOD did not create evil, but HE did allow for the possibility of evil.  Just like a parent doesn’t create “bad” choices or trauma for a child, they do allow for children to make bad choices.  This is how we see that GOD gave us free will.  We are not preprogrammed robots.  We have choices:  leaded or decaf; the blue shirt or the white shirt; listen to good music or country music… these are all choices we make daily.   For some reason, GOD decided that CHOICE would be a part of the human experience.  We’re not just walking around reading from a script.

And, this has huge implications for us.  Think about it like this:  We say that GOD is a god of LOVE and GOODNESS.  For this to be true, it means that anything that’s not LOVE and GOODNESS does not come from GOD.  It’s like 2 doors.  1 has LOVE & GOODNESS (GOD) behind it.  2 has everything else behind it.  We get to choose which door to take.  GOD took a risk on us.  A divine risk.  HE created us to be dependent on Him.  We just want our independence.  (ROMANS 3:23).

Ultimately, our choices are what brings us TO or AWAY from GOD.  When we go away from GOD, it’s because of poison in the well.  A world with poison in the well is filled with evil rulers, where there’s famine and disease, endangered species and broken relationships, betrayals, dishonesty, injustice, death, war… Sound like any place you know?

But, for some reason, GOD thought it worth the DIVINE RISK.

PAIN #2 Pain is caused by PLAYING WITH FIRE. This is simply pain by dangerous behaviors.  A one time careless act or the accumulation of many choices over time … the fact is that GOD put into place in the universe certain natural and moral laws that regulate things.  He put them there to protect, not to punish.  Like the physical pain of picking up a pan off the stove without an oven mitt.  It burns.  We feel pain.

Pain can be a warning sign of from GOD telling us that we’re engaging in unhealthy behavior.  Mild pain can actually protect us from causing serious damage to ourselves.  Think of an invisible fence for a dog.  As the dog approaches it’s limit, a mild shock ensues.  It doesn’t always stop the dog from crossing the street, but it’s there as a warning for it to not.

Someone who has smoked a pack a day for 20 years is playing with fire.
Someone living on a steady diet of Big Macs & fries is playing with fire.
Someone who is self-centered, doesn’t give of themselves, cold hearted is playing with fire.

A lot of pain would be taken care of if we just dropped the matches.

PAIN #3 Pain is the PERFECTING WORK. We can find some rejoicing because GOD is using these things to develop perseverance and character in me.  Pruning is tough.

We then heard the stories of physical & emotional pains of some missionary partners of ours.  Thomas & Christi McEwen are taking their call to the mission field of Torino, Italy: the witchcraft/Satanic capital of Italy.  Their stories can be heard by listening to the XPT podcast at iamcrosspoint.com/listen/why or by visiting their website at whensoulscollide.com.  They have an AWESOME STORY!!!

We’ll never understand life the way that GOD does.  We’re not supposed to.  We’ll never understand why growth has to hurt sometimes.  But, GOD has an infinitely higher, frighteningly higher goal for us than we could ever imagine.  He has a goal for building character into us for eternity.  Not just today.

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So, what resonates for you here?
What questions do you have?
Can you get behind a GOD that doesn’t make it easy for you?

We want to know.

//XPT ADMIN