“We know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth [struggles] in pain together until now” (Romans 8:22).
We live in a world of suffering. It has been that way ever since Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, and brought sin into this world. Suffering and eventual death come to everything that lives in this world, whether man, animals, or plants. Sometimes people ask why it has to be this way, and why God allows such suffering. Does He not care? Those who do not want to believe in God may use suffering to dare to criticize God. They ask, “If He is truly God, why does He not do something about the suffering in this world?” Maybe you have heard this question, and do not know how to answer it.
It is true that God did not have to allow sin to enter this world. He could have kept Adam and Eve from eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If God had done this, you and I would be enjoying the Garden of Eden today. But we would never have known the depths of love in the heart of God, and that He loved us enough to send His Son to die for us. We would never have been able to spend eternity in the Father’s house; we would be living for all eternity here on earth. We would never have been brought into a relationship with God as our Father, or be the bride of Christ. We know all this, and enjoy all this, because the love of God has been shown out when sin entered this world.
Also, God has in His purposes to exalt and glorify His beloved Son. In His counsels in a past eternity, He purposed to have the Lord Jesus be Head over all things, both on earth and in heaven. God has been more glorified, and we have been far more blessed, than if sin had never entered this world.
Yes, there is still suffering here, and sometimes severe suffering. However, the suffering is temporary, and it will soon cease. When the Lord Jesus takes His rightful place, and the judgment is over, all tears will be wiped away. Then the joy and blessing will be eternal.
We cannot totally understand all this, for it is a plan of God. But we can accept what God has decided to do, accept Christ as our Savior, and enjoy all that He has given us.