Have any of you ever been around a toddler? Well if you have ever spent any time around a toddler you would probably know that their favorite question is “Why?” If a parent tells them to do something or not to do something the question is “Why?” If you’re explaining how something works to them the follow up question is always “Why?” Why? Why? Why? It never ends.
Although it can feel repetitive and the questions seem obvious to those of us who are a little older and wiser, asking why is very important for the growth of that toddler. They need to ask questions, they need to investigate so they can begin to understand how the world works. It may seem annoying but that question “Why” is huge in that child growing up.
Just like asking questions is important for a little kid, it’s important for us too. But unfortunately we tend to have a little less grace when it comes to our questions. We think that we have to reach a certain pount and have it all figured out. We try to avoid annoying people or looking dumb with our questions so we just keep them to ourselves.
Here is the problem with that. If you have a question that goes unasked, it turns into doubt and fear. You start to think about all the possible answers to that question and it can cause a lot of anxiety. It can make you feel less than because you feel like the only one with questions and doubts and you end up feeling worse than you would have if you had just asked in the first place.
So I am here to tell you, asking questions is ok! It’s important. Asking questions grows our knowledge and love for the Lord. So never be afraid to ask questions or express any doubts you may have. We can always talk through them and find the answers together. But the only way we can get answers is if we ask our questions. That’s what this series is all about. Asking questions and finding answers. We are highlighting three questions that get asked all the time, maybe you have asked them before. Or maybe you know someone who has asked it or maybe two months from now you will have a friend ask you these very questions. The hope is you will be prepared to answer them and that you will find hope and joy as we investigate the claims of Christianity.
So if you read Skeptic Week 1 message, you would know that one of the most commonly asked questions of Christianity is:
Why does God allow suffering?
Or maybe you’ve heard it said “Why does God let bad things happen?” Either way it’s an understandable question. It’s easy to look at the world and all the pain and horrible things that happen and wonder what God is doing up in Heaven about all this pain.
I know I have had moments in my life where I am going through something hard and I have wondered why God would let something so bad happen. But there are a few things that we need to understand about suffering in order to answer this question. First of all you need to know that,
God is not the creator of evil and suffering.
The truth is God created a perfect world. The bible says “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” in Genesis 1:31. The world God created was without flaws. It was a good plan. A world where Adam and Eve and future generations could have lived in God’s presence and just enjoyed life. But you and I both know that's not what happened. You know the story, the serpent came along and deceived Eve. Because of the serpents deceit , Adam and Eve sinned and because of that the world fell apart. It was sent on a downward spiral and is now filled with death and pain all because of sin.
Now you might be wondering “Why did God even give Adam and Eve the option to sin? If He knew this would happen why not take the option away?” To answer this question I have a question for you. If I told you, you could be in a relationship with the person of your dreams and have all the best friends you ever wanted. The only catch is that they are all forced to love you. They don’t have a choice. Would you want that?
At first you might say yes, but what you would learn later on is that a relationship that is forced is no relationship at all. You want to be with people who choose you. People who know the good, bad and ugly and still love you. Not robots who are forced to hang out with you.
God wants the same thing. He could have forced us all to love him sure. He could have created us with no freewill. No option to choose anything but sin. But we would have just been a bunch of robots who don’t really love HIm. God wants his people to really choose Him which means we need the option to choose something else.
Unfortunately, a lot of the time, we do choose evil. We choose the wrong things all the time. Just like Adam and Eve did.
Adam and Eve’s choice led to three evils.
Moral EvilMoral evil is what we do to ourselves and to others as a result of our bad choices and our rebellion against God. It’s the harm we cause to other people.
Natural EvilThis is the natural disaster we see every day. The broken world. Romans 8:22 says, “For we know that up to this present time all of creation groans with pain like the pain of childbirth.” This is a direct result of the fall of mankind when Adam and Eve sinned. The earth is no longer functioning perfectly, in fact it’s getting worse and we are part of the reason why. Our mistreatment of the resources God has given us, on top of all the natural disasters the world goes through causes so much pain on earth.
Finally there is,
Demonic Evil
“Our enemy the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8
We have an enemy out to destroy us. He wants to draw us away from God, get us to choose sin and cause a lot of pain as a result. We all know the pain this evil can cause.
There is a lot of evil and pain in the world but it’s not because God is up in Heaven allowing it or even causing it to happen. It happens because God has given us a choice to choose him or not. And I believe to God every single one of us who chooses Him and begins an eternal relationship with the God of the universe is worth all the pain. And I believe that God’s ultimate desire is for every single person to choose Him. In fact 2 Peter 3:9 says exactly that. God does not want anyone to die without knowing Him. But, He is not going to force it. He wants us to really choose Him. Out of that choice comes suffering sometimes.
CLUMPS
Instruct the students to walk around the room and talk to each other. Let them know that at any moment you will yell out a number.If the number is four, for instance, everyone must immediately get into groups of four. Once in a group of four they must sit down (or raise their hands) Leaders then eliminate all those not in groups of four. This process is repeated with different numbers each time until all have been eliminated. Plan ahead how many students you need in groups for the next game.
1. How many of you would say you have ever had something bad happen to you? Raise your hands.
2. When bad things happen a lot of people tend to either 1. Blame others, 2. Blame God, or 3. Blame themselves. Which one do you tend to do? Why?
3. If God did not cause sin to enter into the world, what did?
4. Would you want to be in a relationship/friendship with someone who was forced to spend time with you? Why not?
5. God gave us freedom to choose between Him and sin and when we choose sin it causes suffering. Directly and indirectly. The good news is the Bible teaches that Jesus understands the suffering we go through. And He goes through it with us.
Read Psalm 56:8“You've seen me tossing and turning through the night. You've collected all my tears and you've preserved them in your bottle. You have recorded every one of them in your book.”
6. David found comfort in his suffering, because He knew God is with Him. How else can we find comfort in hard times?
MOVING FORWARD
This series is all about questions, so take this time to allow your group to ask 1 or 2 questions they might have been wondering about. You might not have the answer right away! If that’s the case let them know you will work on finding an answer together and you can always recruit your student pastor for help!
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