Suffering and the Great Controversy – Part 3 In our last two newsletters, we looked at God, how He created His intelligent creatures to function, the mysterious fall/rebellion of Lucifer, and how God responded to the crisis. Now we pick up the story after Satan was removed from heaven and mankind was created… The Creation … Read more
Every government has laws by which it operates. The order of the kingdom and the safety of its citizens are dependent upon those laws. And God’s kingdom has a law as well—a just and unselfish law which is a reflection of God’s character. The law of God—the Law of Life—is the law that shows what love is and how it operates. And this law is the foundation of God’s government. Safety, harmony, order, and freedom are found within the confines of this law. Outside of it are danger, contention, chaos, and slavery to sin. And the happiness of all God’s creatures is dependent upon their harmony with God’s law of love and freedom.
To understand the context in which suffering exists, we must understand something far greater than our own experience in this fallen world. We must understand the great controversy between God and Satan.
Nobody likes to suffer. We all want comfort. That is because we were created for comfort, not suffering. When God created the world, there was no suffering. “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” Genesis 1:31. And when Jesus returns, there will be no more suffering. “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Revelation 21:4. So, if we began with no suffering, and we will end with no suffering, why is there suffering now?