wants<\/em> evil and suffering as part of a mysterious plan that will be revealed at the end of all things. So,\u00a0I have to wonder\u00a0if it\u2019s just something we\u2019ve created to try and makes sense out of senseless suffering.<\/p>\nBut more important than the source of this bad idea is our lack of thinking\u00a0through the implications of that belief.<\/p>\n
Suppose that God does indeed desire the presence of evil, along with our pain and suffering, in order to accomplish some mysterious will. If that is the case, then it seems to me we are left with some rather undesirable options. Either God is\u00a0a\u00a0malicious God who desires evil or God doesn\u2019t really care about our present suffering because God has bigger things on God\u2019s plate or God is simply incompetent because God couldn\u2019t figure out some other plan that didn\u2019t require things like rape, child abuse, and the Holocaust.<\/p>\n
No matter which option we choose, we\u2019re left with a God that is neither loving nor worthy of our worship.<\/p>\n
Which is why I think it\u2019s critical that we never\u00a0forget that the promise of Revelation is that one day suffering and death will be no more; not that they will be redeemed as part of some elaborate and ultimately perverse plan.<\/p>\n
Now, this doesn\u2019t mean I think that God isn\u2019t at work in the world as part of some ultimate plan.<\/p>\n
I do.<\/p>\n
But I am convinced that we can believe in God\u2019s promise of a new heaven and a new earth\u00a0without having to believe that the presence of evil is somehow required<\/em> in order to usher in that new creation. That is to say, I do not believe that\u00a0evil is\u00a0a necessary prerequisite for a new heaven and a new earth. Rather, I believe that God\u2019s promised new creation is a response<\/em> to the suffering and evil of this world.<\/p>\nWhen I read the Gospels, I see a God so heartbroken over the state of the world that He put on flesh and dwelt among us in order to bring about an end to suffering and death, not embrace them as part of His divine will.<\/p>\n
And when I read a book like Revelation, I hear God saying, \u201cThings are not how I want them to be, so I will make all things new,\u201d not, \u201cSee! Suffering and death have been\u00a0part of my plan all along.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, I absolutely do believe that in spite of all the pain and suffering we experience in life, God does have an ultimate plan of healing and restoration. However, in all our\u00a0talk about resurrection and pearly gates and golden streets, there\u2019s a critical detail we often overlook.<\/p>\n
It comes in the fifth chapter of John\u2019s revelation and it\u2019s\u00a0easy to miss, but it\u2019s a fascinating detail that speaks volumes about God\u2019s response to our pain.<\/p>\n
In verse 6, John writes,<\/p>\n
Then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered\u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Obviously, that\u2019s a reference to Jesus.<\/p>\n
But have you ever really stopped to think about what it means?<\/em><\/p>\nAnd what it says about God?<\/em><\/p>\nNow, clearly, Revelation is apocalyptic literature and can\u2019t be taken literally. We shouldn\u2019t read this passage and expect there to be a literal slaughtered lamb in heaven. That would be, well, weird and more than a bit morbid. But this passage does point us to a more literal, deeper, and strangely hopeful truth.<\/p>\n
Which can be found in the 20th chapter of John\u2019s Gospel.<\/p>\n
But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.\u00a0<\/span>So the other disciples told him, \u201cWe have seen the Lord.\u201d But he said to them, \u201cUnless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nA week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, \u201cPeace be with you.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>Then he said to Thomas, \u201cPut your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>Thomas answered him, \u201cMy Lord and my God!\u201d\u00a0<\/span>Jesus said to him, \u201cHave you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\nWe usually assume this passage is about doubt and having faith without needing proof.<\/p>\n
Which is true, but there\u2019s something else going on here as well.<\/p>\n
Something we almost always miss.<\/p>\n
I believe\u00a0John is trying to tell us that there will be scars in heaven.<\/em><\/p>\nRemember, this is the resurrected Christ that John is describing. The body of Jesus that Thomas reaches out to touch is the same body Jesus will have throughout eternity. And it\u2019s a body that\u2019s not exactly\u00a0perfect.<\/p>\n
It has holes.<\/em><\/p>\nAnd scars.<\/em><\/p>\nAnd a story to tell.<\/em><\/p>\nI believe the holes in his\u00a0hands and the scars on his back persist on the body of the resurrected Jesus as an eternal testimony to the truth God does<\/em> cares about our suffering.<\/p>\nThat God does<\/em> takes our pain seriously.<\/p>\nAnd that we don\u2019t<\/em> suffer alone.<\/p>\nI believe the slaughtered lamb stands before the heavenly throne as a witness to all of creation that even in heaven God has not\u00a0forgotten the tragedies of this life, nor will\u00a0God act as if they never happened. To do so would not only trivialize the seriousness of our pain in the here and now, it would also call into question the very notion that God loves His creation.<\/p>\n
For there is no love if there is no heartbreak when those we care for suffer, and no compassion if we do nothing to honor their pain.<\/p>\n
Now,\u00a0I know that\u00a0Jesus having scars for eternity may not ease the tension of theodicy whatsoever for\u00a0you and, to be honest, I don\u2019t know how God will wipe away the tears I\u2019ve shed over my wife\u2019s multiple miscarriages or the loss of my grandfather to Parkinson\u2019s disease or the seemingly infinite\u00a0struggles and tragedies I continue to witness\u00a0in the lives of those around me.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless,\u00a0the scars of Jesus do give me hope.<\/p>\n
For me, they\u2019re a\u00a0testimony to the fact\u00a0that our\u00a0suffering is not a trivial thing to God \u2013 even in eternity.<\/p>\n
To me, they stand as an everlasting witness to the truth\u00a0God that does take our\u00a0pain seriously.<\/p>\n
God could have wiped the past away from the resurrected body of Jesus, but His refusal to do so\u00a0speaks to a God who continues to mourn with us even as He leads us to a place of healing.<\/p>\n
And so I find hope in the scars of Jesus.<\/p>\n
Hope that if our pain is that important to God, then maybe so is our healing.<\/p>\n
Hope that in spite of all the evil that surrounds us, maybe\u00a0one day God\u00a0really will wipe every tear from our\u00a0eyes.<\/span><\/p>\nMaybe one day d<\/span>eath and\u00a0<\/span>mourning and crying and pain will finally and forever be no more.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(H\/T Wikipedia) I originally intended to share this post last week, but writing about getting angry with God took a little longer than I expected. So, this post is kind of hanging out by itself this week. But for me, it\u2019s an important wrap up to everything I had to say about the problem of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3437,"featured_media":13110,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a>(H\/T Wikipedia<\/a>)<\/p>\n