SUFFERING IN THE LIGHT OF DIVINE REVELATION

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

SUFFERING IN THE LIGHT OF DIVINE REVELATION

The question of suffering is one of the most sensitive questions. Many ask themselves: why has God created us to suffer in this world from different diseases, sorrows, calamities, troubles, and misfortunes; from passions on the inside, from bad people on the outside, from the envy of neighbors, from the menace of enemies? For those who do not believe in God, this world is a hopeless valley of sorrows; life for them is a sad symphony of wailing and weeping. Some in their despair even say that there is no other hell beyond the grave, that hell is here, on earth. In this way earthly sorrows, not being lightened by the hopes of heavenly Revelation, lead to pessimism and despair. The worst thing in such cases is that suffering does not carry any meaning in itself that would soften it, making it doubly hard to bear.

Here we will endeavor to examine the question of suffering in the light of the Divine Revelation.

First of all, one thing must be clear to us: God has created us not for sorrow, but for joy. Where do we see man for the first time? In Paradise! According to the testimony of the Holy Bible, especially of the New Testament, man is intended for Paradise, not for hell. The fact that many are perishing does not yet mean that such were God’s intentions for man. No! "God is Agape [Love] [1 John 4:8]. He does NOT want the death of the sinner [cf. Ezekiel 33:1], but on the contrary, "will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" [1 Timothy 2:4]. The following situation is very significant: on Judgment Day, the Savior will say to the righteous: "Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." And He will say to the sinners: "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" [Matthew 25:34, 41]. From this, it is clearly seen that, according to God’s plan, Paradise was prepared for men, and hell–for the demons.

God placed Adam in Paradise. In that wonderful place of joy the first man was unspeakably happy because he was close to God. Happiness IS BEING WITH GOD, AND AWAY FROM HIM THERE IS NO TRUE OR LASTING JOY. In the Kingdom of God where God Himself will rule, there will be no sorrow. God will wipe away every tear from the eye (cf. Revelation 7:17). Adam was happy in Paradise as long as he had an inner connection with God through grace. But where did sorrows come from?—from sin. As soon as Adam sinned he began to suffer, even though he was still in Paradise. Sin CARRIES ITS OWN PUNISHMENT IN ITSELF. The devil destroys his friends: those who obey his will. Conscience reproaches the one who goes against the Divine principles and transgresses God’s Commandments. Even before God drove Adam out of Paradise, Adam himself had already left it inwardly by VIOLATING GOD’S LAW AND BY LOSING THE GRACE. He began to suffer from the moment he fell. It is NOT God, then, Who is to blame for Adam’s suffering, but it is Adam himself. God HAD CREATED HIM FOR JOY, BUT HE CHOSE SORROW FOR HIMSELF.

The Logos/Word of God testifies of the Savior and His wondrous gifts of grace: "But as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in His name" [John 1:12]. To become a child of God, is this not the same as returning to the lost Paradise? Is this not something even greater? This is how kind God is toward us, thes children of Adam. He has given us the opportunity to avoid the disastrous fate of our ancestors if we want to. Adam was gifted by God WITH A FREE WILL, but he misused his freedom and transgressed God’s law. That is why he began to suffer. We too, have this great gift–FREEDOM. It we embrace God’s law, if we subject our sinful will to the holy will of God, we will not suffer like Adam but will foretaste the Paradisiacal joys even in this life, and in the age to come we will also live in bliss eternally with those who have pleaded God…

"…God is the Source of joy, and the devil–the source of suffering. That is why even the sorrows which come to us according to God’s will in this temporary life carry in themselves joy and lead to heavenly glory if they are endured with faith and trust in God’s good Providence. In contrast, the temporal sinful pleasures with which the devil tempts us carry poison in themselves, and their end is utter disappointment. Whoever follows God is happy even in suffering, as the holy Apostle Paul speaks: "sorrowful, yet always rejoicing" (2 Corinthians 6:10); but whoever follows the devil is unhappy even in his earthly joys…

"…It is true that the righteous, too, are not left without sorrows in life. The Savior Himself has prophesied to His Apostles: "In the world ye shall have tribulation" (John 16:33). The holy Apostle Paul says directly: "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" [2 Timothy 3:12)…In this way, the first Christians considered suffering for Christ to e a great honor and rejoiced in it.  In the same spirit, the holy Apostles advised the faithful followers of Christ [to value suffering]. In all cases, the holy Apostles advised the Christians to rejoice and to lay their sorrow on God. What a deep and perfect understanding the first Christians had of suffering and its beneficial influence on the soul of the person who endures it patiently! [Source: The Meaning of Suffering and Strife and Reconciliation]

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"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George