No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him…” (I Corinthians 2:9)

Why do we suffer? People throughout the ages have struggled with this question and I have too. My natural inclination is to recoil at the prospect of pain and maneuver to avoid it. Only masochists pronounce suffering good.

And yet…

Things are never what they seem, are they? Though you won’t convince me to label suffering, in and of itself, anything but evil, I do suspect that it’s a gift in disguise.

The apostle Paul writes, “If we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” (Romans 8:17)

As I meditated on this verse, I wondered what God was thinking when He made man. What you read below is just my imagination helping me sort through some intriguing ideas. Maybe these thoughts will stimulate your thinking as well.

What if God said something like this when explaining Project Earth to the angels:

“I want royal offspring. I want to lavish my love on sons and daughters made in my image and to rejoice in their love for me. I want to see the astonishment and joy on their faces when I unveil my glory and they get to share in it. I want them beside me as we rule my kingdom together for all eternity.

But my heart is troubled, because in order for them to share the deepest level of intimacy with me, they must catch a glimpse of how I sacrifice so that true love may exist. Moment by moment I must allow rejection from beings I love and cherish. For freely-given love to exist, I must also allow choices made against my character and endure the consequent horror—pain, chaos, and devastation throughout my creation—while everything in me wants to leap into the fray and annihilate evil immediately. Does not my great Spirit grieve at all the sin I see committed under the sun, day after day?

My sacrificial suffering lies at the heart of who I am—how can my children become mature sons and daughters without some comprehension of the cost I pay for love? Though no one will know what it is like for me to pay this price, each human shall receive a glimpse into the window of suffering. Not because I am mean-spirited, but because I want to share my heart.

I also must consider how I can best groom my offspring to rule with me. I am only too aware of what it takes to govern—the wisdom, the experience and the character needed. Humans will not be able to fulfill the glorious destiny I have planned for them unless they understand this aspect of MY existence.

Keep in mind that I will decree a finite time for suffering—only about seventy years for individuals and a contained season of struggle in mankind’s history. What is, say, 10,000 years compared to eternity?

Does freely given (as opposed to robotic) love make all this messiness, pain and sacrifice worth it? I assure you it does, it does…”

The Bible says that “we shall reign with Him” one day. (II Timothy 2:12) Perhaps God doesn’t want a spoiled, clueless princess in His throne room. Perhaps the rule we are created for requires a kind of grooming.

God did not spare His own Son this process:

Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered…(Hebrews 5:8)

In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. (Hebrews 2:10)

God has many good reasons for putting up with suffering, but it invigorates my faith to think a little outside the usual picture frame. I’d love to hear some of your thoughts on the subject!

P.S. I’m reading a great book right now by Randy Alcorn called, “If God is Good…” If you struggle in this area, I recommend you buy it right away! It’s excellent.