Human Suffering—Will It Ever End?
GRUESOME scenes after a bomb explodes in a crowded market of Sarajevo; massacres and mayhem in Rwanda; starving children clamoring for food in Somalia; dazed families counting their losses after an earthquake in Los Angeles; helpless victims of flood-ravaged Bangladesh. Such scenes of human suffering confront us daily on TV or in magazines and newspapers.
A sad effect of human suffering is that it causes some people to lose faith in God. “The existence of evil has always provided the most serious impediment to faith,” according to a statement published by a Jewish community in the United States. The writers refer to deaths in Nazi concentration camps like Auschwitz and from bombs such as the one that exploded over Hiroshima. “The question of how a just and powerful God could allow the annihilation of so many innocent lives haunts the religious conscience and staggers the imagination,” say the authors.
Sadly, the endless flow of tragic reports may have a numbing effect on human emotions. As long as friends and relatives are not involved, many find themselves hardly moved by the suffering of others.
Yet, the fact that we are capable of feeling compassion, at least for our own loved ones, should tell us something about our Maker. The Bible says that man was created “in God’s image” and “according to [his] likeness.” (Genesis 1:26, 27) This does not mean that humans are like God in appearance. No, for Jesus Christ explained that “God is a Spirit,” and “a spirit does not have flesh and bones.” (John 4:24; Luke 24:39) Being made in God’s likeness refers to our potential for displaying godlike qualities. Therefore, since normal humans feel compassion for those who suffer, we must conclude that man’s Creator, Jehovah God, is compassionate and that he feels deeply for his suffering human creation.—Compare Luke 11:13.
One way in which God has shown his compassion is by providing mankind with a written explanation of the cause of suffering. This he has done in his Word, the Bible. The Bible clearly shows that God created man to enjoy life, not to suffer. (Genesis 2:7-9) It also reveals that the first humans brought suffering upon themselves by rejecting God’s righteous rule.—Deuteronomy 32:4, 5; Romans 5:12.
In spite of this, God still feels compassion for suffering humanity. This is clearly shown in his promise to bring an end to human suffering. “Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his peoples. And God himself will be with them. And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”—Revelation 21:3, 4; see also Isaiah 25:8; 65:17-25; Romans 8:19-21.
These wonderful promises prove that God is sensitive to human suffering and that he is determined to bring an end to it. But what exactly caused human suffering in the first place, and why has God permitted it to continue until our day?
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Cover and page 32: Alexandra Boulat/Sipa Press
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Kevin Frayer/Sipa Press