I find it hard to maintain hope. I like to think of myself as a realist, but my realism often slips into pessimism. Perhaps it’s because we’re more aware of world events than ever before, but it often seems like the world is going up in flames. And as a follower of Jesus, this often leaves me pondering the question, where is God in all the suffering? It’s what scholars call ‘the problem of evil’.
The problem of evil goes something like this, ‘if God is all loving, and all powerful, then why is there so much suffering in the world.’ Or to put it another way, how can God stand by and let Aleppo happen?
And frustratingly, the Bible doesn’t give us any answers (not that I can find, anyway). Obviously the authors of the Bible are aware of the problem (e.g. why do the wicked prosper? Ps. 73) but like us, they seem short on answers.
But while not giving us any answers, I do think the Bible does go some way to giving us a solution. It’s what some scholars call ‘a theology of revolt’. As followers of Jesus, we are called to revolt against evil. Wherever we see suffering, oppression, injustice, inequality, or any form of evil, we are called to do something about it. We might struggle to understand why God let it happen, and where he is in it, but we are called to role up our sleeves and try and make a difference. We are, after all, Jesus’s body, ambassadors of God’s love in the world.
But where to start?
In our recent interview with Dave Smith – who started the Boaz Trust, a charity that cares for destitute asylum seekers – I asked whether he thought everyone should get involved in this cause. To my surprise he said no. Instead, he said that everyone needs to seek the Spirit’s guidance and use their unique gifts and talents to make a difference in one area. Everyone is called to something.
I found that really liberating. I often feel overwhelmed by everything that’s going on in the world right now. But I’m not called to take on the world’s issues. Instead I’m called to take on at least one issue.
When Jesus described God’s Kingdom he often used images of things that could easily be missed; mustard seeds, buried treasure, lost coins, and so on. People all over the world are doing their ‘one thing’, but it’s easy to miss it as the media simply doesn’t deem them newsworthy.
I don’t understand why God lets suffering continue. But I do have faith that if God looks anything like Jesus (and I believe he does) then he is doing something, and I do have faith that people around the world are responding to his call to commit to their ‘one thing’. And every time I hear a story of someone’s ‘one thing’, I feel hope.
Tim