Spring is in the air, today being the 70 degree day we were waiting for since the middle of winter! It’s a day in which new life is emerging, hope is soaring, and people are rejoicing!
Four days ago, on Palm Sunday, we sat down and watched The Passion of the Christ. The movie begins with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and focuses on just that “short window” of unimaginable suffering from his arrest, trial, sentencing, and ultimately his crucifixion. The images are harsh, and yet we still can’t truly fathom all that He endured. A crown of thorns for the “King of the Jews” was mockingly forced upon his head, as many spat in his face and hurled insults. He was brutalized with a cat of nine tails (a whip containing broken pieces of glass and jagged edges that would dehumanize the skin), dejected and naked, and then nailed to a wooden cross where he would spend six hours dying from suffocation in front of gawking crowds.
We could easily ask, WHY? And we should. Do you ever wonder how suffering and a loving God can be possible, in your own life, in this fallen world? Today I was reading through a book entitled, The Case for Faith by Lee Stroebel, a journalist for The Chicago Tribune and former atheist. He attempts to answer the question of: How can God be all-knowing, good, all-powerful and yet allow suffering to exist? Stroebel interviewed a scholar named Peter John Kreeft regarding this question, who states, “You see, God has specifically shown us very clearly how this can work. He has demonstrated how the very worst thing that has ever happened in the history of the world ended up resulting in the very best thing that has ever happened in the history of the world…I’m referring to dei-cide..The death of God himself on the cross. At the time, nobody saw how anything good could ever result from this tragedy. And yet God foresaw that the result would be the opening of heaven to human beings. So the worst tragedy in history brought about the most glorious event in history. And if it happened there–if the ultimate evil can result in the ultimate good–it can happen elsewhere, even in our own individual lives. Here, God lifts the curtain and lets us see it. Elsewhere he simple says, ‘Trust me.’ …At the the time of the crucifixion, the disciples couldn’t see how anything good could result; similarly, as we face struggles and trials and suffering, we sometimes can’t imagine good emerging. But we’ve seen how it did in the case of Jesus, and we can trust it will in our case too. For instance, the greatest Christians in history seem to say that their sufferings ended up bringing them the closest to God–so this is the best thing that could happen, not the worst.”
I couldn't agree more. It's in the mountains we rejoice more easily, but in the valleys where we grow. Without those low points, perhaps the graceful soaring we experience on the mountaintops wouldn't be so treasured. God knows, and it is comforting as you said, to remember Jesus felt the worst type of rejection and suffering on our behalf. He understands and consoles us in our pain, and even promises to bring good out of it for those who follow Him! Amazing redemption. Thank you for your comments.
Sometimes I think of that in terms of how God uses trials and personal weaknesses to shape us into a being more like Him although they are painful and difficult to walk through. It goes against the culture of today but there is a comfort in knowing that nothing we go through has not been experienced or felt by the perfect Savior.