COVER SUBJECT: WHY SO MUCH SUFFERING? WHEN WILL IT END?
So Many Innocent Lives Destroyed!
Little Noelle was an affectionate child who loved to draw. One summer evening she wandered into her backyard and somehow tumbled into the family’s swimming pool. She drowned just two weeks before her fourth birthday.
Charlotte, Daniel, Olivia, Josephine . . . These are the names of some of the 20 six- or seven-year-olds among the 26 victims gunned down at a school in Connecticut, U.S.A., on December 14, 2012. At a memorial service, President Obama called out the children’s names and told the grieving audience: “These tragedies must end.”
Eighteen-year-old Bano left Iraq in 1996 and moved with her family to Norway. Her friends called her by the nickname Sun Rays. Sadly, however, on July 22, 2011, Bano was one of the 77 victims whose lives were cut short by an extremist, who boasted: “I wish to apologize . . . that I wasn’t able to execute more.”
Similar heart-wrenching stories have been reported over and over around the world. Think of the grief and pain that have resulted from accidents, crime, warfare, terrorism, natural disasters, and other tragedies. So many innocent lives snuffed out and so much suffering, often for no apparent reason!
Some people blame God, reasoning that our Creator does not care about the human family. Others conclude that God sees our suffering but simply chooses not to intervene. Still others say that such tragedies are predestined. There seems to be no end to opinions on the subject. Where can we find reliable and satisfying answers? In the following articles, we will look into God’s Word, the Bible, for answers on what causes suffering and how it will be brought to an end.