This question goes through my head sometimes, it does everyone's, I'm sure. I just ponder....why? I know that He created humans to fellowship with, and so that He could love us. I have read way too many great books and listened to far too many great teachers to ever fool myself into believing that He isnt there.

I just wish I could see His plan from Heaven's viewpoint, I suppose. I wish I could sit down with Him over a cup of coffee and just listen to Him tell me what was before this universe. I think Id just say....why? Knowing the amount of pain and suffering creation would cause...why? I am looking through this glass darkly and trying to make out the shapes behind the glass.

I know when we get there, the question of why will be answered. I hope He comes soon.

First of all, it's never an offense to be honest with Him. (He knows what we're thinking: we might as well say it. )

Knowing the amount of pain and suffering creation would cause...why?

Here's Jack Kelley answering a question about why there are natural disasters -- not your question, but I think it answers your question:

A. The simplest thing to do is remind them who’s in control here. Paul called Satan the god of this age (2 Cor. 4:4) and John said, “We know we are children of God but the whole world is under control of the evil one.” (1 John 5:19) God didn’t create the world to have periodic natural disasters. These all came after sin was introduced into the world and are consequences we have to live with now, along with sickness, disease, wars, famine and other life threatening events.

Jesus said that the increase in frequency and severity of these disasters would be a sign that the end of the age is coming. It’s one of the warning signs that it’s time to get right with God before it’s too late. The judgments that are coming will make the current disasters seem like the good old days.

http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/why-did-god-let-this-happen/

And I would just add that we are not the only ones who suffer and feel pain. All three Persons of the Trinity suffer from our sin and rejection of Them, as well as being grieved at all the other evils present in the world. And Jesus took all that sin and evil upon Himself, and suffered physical death as well.

But God loved us so much that He thought it worth the pain to save as much of the world as could be saved -- instead of simply discarding it all -- and discarding us all.

An aside:

We were created with eternal souls -- I'm not sure we could have been un-created.

We were created to have free choice. Maybe the Lord could have saved us all if He'd taken away our freedom. But we wouldn't have liked that, and neither would He.

And last but not least, the time will come when we will agree with Him that it was worth it.

And then He will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more. [Rev. 21:4]

Forever.

Good answer
BSF,
Just posted poem on same topic on the wedding music post !

I guess we,ll never see the other side of the tapestry this side of heaven.

Our job is to trust without seeing,
And believe without doubting,
To use our free will for His greater good. To be His hands and feet in this broken world.


Like growing up in an orphanage but remembering that your parents were royalty. And one day you,ll get to go home.

We have a grandchild, 2... almost 3, who is at that 'why' stage right now. No matter what explanation you give him, he cocks his head, wrinkles up his little forehead and inquires (yet again)"why?" To try to get into the scientific explanation to him to properly answer his 'why' is useless...we know no matter how we explain the reason to him, he will not grasp it. So is God's dilemma with his little children. Our brains are not yet able to grasp all the why's of this confusing world.

This morning I was reading the first three chapters of Ecclesiastes and the wisest man in the world ever, Solomon, while contemplating the meaning of it all, was still at a loss and asking why.

At the rapture, our brains will be finally capable to fathom it all. Praise His Holy Name!!! One of the greatest joys we will have then is to finally fully understand all the mysteries. God promises us that He will unveil to us all the mysteries of His Kingdom. Some of them for the very first time, are being unveiled even now before we have our glorified state, in these last days, as Daniel prophesied would happen, but the rich tapestry of meaning will only be known when we reach the other shore.

Email: nancycressman60@gmail.com

Here's my answer from the books I've read on the subject. In fact, one of the most excellent books that makes one look at God's creation in a whole new light is a book I just bought (and almost finished with) - "Destined for the Throne" by Paul E. Billheimer. Amazing and mind-blowing.

Here's the cliff notes. God can only create perfection. But even with Adam and Eve's perfection, they were still only human, just without the sin nature. God wanted a companion for Himself. Adam and Eve were friends of God, but He wanted a lover (in the spiritual sense, not the carnal sense). Even Adam and Eve weren't "close enough" to God in their perfection to be a suitable companion for the Lord.

God cannot CREATE His Own uncreated righteousness. Therefore, God couldn't have created Adam and Eve as one flesh with Yeshua. He must GIVE His righteousness away, BESTOW it, if you will. But God cannot bestow His righteousness upon an already-righteous being. God's Law allows for a swap to be made, righteousness for UNrighteousness. Therefore, in order to make us one flesh in Yeshua, we had to become UNrighteous so that He could bear it Himself and give us HIS righteousness.

In other words, in order to elevate us far beyond the angels with His Own righteousness, He had to first "demote" us from human perfection.

This is the ONLY way God could make humanity as high as He could without breaching the Godhead. We won't be like the angels in Heaven, we are literally in the family of God, Sons and Daughters of the Most High, not because He merely "created us", but through our co-heir-ship with Yeshua (Romans 8:17).

The life we live currently in the flesh is a "training ground", if you will, of our kingship upon God's Throne (Rev. 3:21). We will rule and reign with Christ as kings and priests of God (Rev. 5:9-10). If you read Hebrews 4 and the beginning of Hebrews 5, you know the reason why Christ came down and lived among us, to give us a High Priest who can empathize because He's "been there" and felt our pain and suffering. This is EXACTLY why we go through trials as well, to train us to be the kings and priests we're destined to become in Glory.

Christ has given us His authority, "deputized us", if you will, given us His "Power of Attorney", and we exercise that as His Body here on earth. We are already "seated" with Him in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6), it's not some "future" happening, therefore, we learn how to reign in life (Romans 5:17) by living the abundant life in prayer, abiding in Him (John 10:10, John 15:5).

And prayer is the vehicle by which we establish God's will on earth (as it is in Heaven).

In a nutshell, the entire creation story was for God to create Himself a Bride. That's the end goal - we see it plain as day at the end of Revelation with the city of God, the wife of the Lamb, descending from Heaven. God wants a Bride that understands what He understands, thus we live this life. Angels have no concept of pain and suffering. But God does. And He wants His Bride to know it too. Therefore, we learn through experience. However the end of it all is to make us into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).

And that is the ultimate Good of God's creation.

~~Becka

Email: rebeccagoings@gmail.com

Website: http://yahwehishisname.blogspot.com

BSFC123 thanks for posting this question. I've gained some real insight from the answers you've received...and now there's another book I have to get. Thanks Becka.

I think that God made us because he wanted a family!

Not sure if this is a good analogy on suffering according to your question but I have a niece who recently lost an infant son to SIDS. This is her first child and it is a very great loss.

I was thinking that this is the greatest thing that can happen in your life, to have a child and love your child and then also the absolute worst thing that can happen in life is to lose that child.

If I were to ask her if it was worth it to have that child, even to suffer the pain of losing him I am sure that she would say yes.

This life is exceedingly painful at times and there is a lot of wrong stuff going on and suffering, but it is still worth it and we are worth it to our Father God!! God bless you!

I think it also is connected to the matter of free will. We haven't been made robots but free to choose which way we will go. The desire being of course, that we will choose God's way as we so wish Adam and Eve would've done. Satan is quite the adversary. Most don't realize what they've chosen; what they are doing. It's the same as choosing satan's ways. It's all about rebellion! If only our puny brains could all incorporate this reality. Self-is not a legitimate choice when it comes to good and evil choices. There are in reality only 2 choices.

When one sins choosing evil, bad things happen to innocent people. When Adam and Eve fell, this became our reality. It wasn't God's original plan for mankind. The fall led to this state of being. But we have a Savior on the way to Redeem us and restore us to God's leadership . Even then though we note He must rule with a rod of iron. That rebellious streak in mankind keeps rising to the fore. Even after a thousand years under our Messiah's leadership, satan will once again lead a rally of rebellion. Mankind is hard headed-- especially when satan is on the prowl tricking them.

Email: victorychanter@raptureintheairnow.com

Website: Rapture In the Air Now

Thanks Becka for posting that... If the realization of what we are, and what lies ahead for us, doesn't make your hair stick straight out, as well as appreciate just how much God has done for us, then you probably didn't get it.

I think it takes some of us longer to absorb the height and breadth of it all... but what an amazing future we have ahead of us. We can't even imagine it.

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Rom 8:18
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For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. 2 Cor 4:17

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...that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: 11 in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 12 that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 13 in whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, 16 cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, 20 which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: 22 and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. Eph 1

I would ask a similar question but it would be why did you create humans and angels to be different were some to given the knowledge of being human to give them a chance to make a mistake and be able to be redeemed and angels only have one chance to follow god or be exiled? Or was it to show that some were created to live as servants (angels) and some to be given a choice of who they chose to follow. I personally now that I know more about what is right and wrong and try to do the right thing. I wish I was created and Angel only because it would make me not have the illness of sin plus it would mean that I only had one chance to do it right and with being created perfect and sin free I would have a better shot at serving god fully than as a fallen human. Not trying to going all angel nuts or anything but I feel that what have gone through as a human I would trade that to be in servitude to god than to have free will because I have seen sorrow as a human and just the every day issues in life are worth trading for.

Also I would ask do I have any siblings in Heaven? as I had a dream once that I had a brother and I think I do because I asked my mom the question about miscarriages and she said yes to my question.

Also I would ask what was it like to be human before the fall on man? I would assume it would be like being an Angel except you had a choice what you did and you had to follow the one rule of not eating the fruit of the forbidden tree.