From the Pastor’s Study

Two men stood waiting at a bus stop. One, an agnostic, was a professor of philosophy at the University of Michigan. The other was a Lutheran preacher, an Ivy League Ph.D. in religion who taught theology at Concordia University in Ann Arbor. They struck up a conversation.

Before long, the philosopher put a case to the preacher. “Let’s suppose that there is an intersection of two streets. On one of the four corners is a Muslim mosque, on another sits a Hindu shrine, on yet another lies a Jewish synagogue, and on the last is a Christian church. If I’m standing at this crossroads, why should I go to the church, and not to any of the other three places?”

The preacher thanked the philosopher for the question. “I could try to answer it in several ways,” he went on, “but consider this one: suffering.”

“Suffering?”, asked the philosopher.

“Yes,” replied the preacher, “only Christianity speaks profoundly to the subject of suffering. For only Christianity teaches that God Himself – none other than the Creator of the universe – not only became human in the Person of Jesus Christ, but also went through the worst imaginable suffering.

“The Bible says, ‘He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross’ [Philippians 2:8]. It was not only a violent death; it was an accursed death. Jesus was cursed by God as He assumed the curse for all human sin. We Christians know and believe that God is not unable to sympathize with us in our weakness, for we know Jesus.”

The philosopher scratched his head. “I did not expect you to say that,” he said. “You’ve given me something to think about.”

Everyone thinks about suffering. You probably do too. Sometimes we also ask about it. People have done so for centuries, wondering and worrying about suffering and death.

God does not answer all of our questions about suffering in Holy Scripture. Sometimes it seems He answers so few! However, He provides THE Answer. He gave His own Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross. “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood,” the Bible says of Jesus, “He Himself likewise partook of the same nature, that through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage” (Hebrews 2:14-15). Jesus Himself answered for all human sin, including yours. Risen from the dead, He lives to tell the tale: the Good News of sin forgiven and peace with God.

An anguished man once blurted out, “Where was God when my son died in Iraq?” A friend of his gently responded, “The same place where He was when His own Son died for the sin of the world. Jesus was dying for your sins too.”