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Instead of being evidence of God absence, what if suffering is points to a powerful and abundant God who loves? This possibility depends upon how you think of love. Lewis captures it beautifully in this section from The Problem of Pain. 

“The problem of reconciling human suffering with the existence of God who loves, is only insoluble so long as we attach a trivial meaning to the word ‘love’, and look on things as if man were the center of them. Man is not the center. God does not exist for the sake of man. Man does not exist for his own sake…. We were made not primarily that we may love God (though we were made for that too) but that God may love us, that we may become objects in which the Divine love may rest ‘well pleased’. To ask that God’s love should be content for us as we are is to ask that God should cease to be God.” (C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain)

According to Paul, belief in Christ is given to us and suffering is given to us. “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still  have” (Philippians 1:29-30).

Paul loved the Philippians. He held them in a special place as they were apparently always prepared to help him out and send folks to help. He wrote a letter to encourage them as they had no doubt heard about his suffering. I’m sure the anticipation was palpable when the letter was opened and read to the community. Were they shocked to hear him say, “Which one will it be: death or life? I’d rather die and be with Christ; but it is better for me to live and encourage you.”

The Apostle didn’t want the Philippians to worry themselves about his suffering. Nor did he want them to be afraid of suffering. Their chief aim was to honor Christ. As far as Paul was concerned, “to live is Christ, to die is gain.” Therefore, the people of faith could be confident that God’s glory would be manifested no matter the circumstances. This theme would be present throughout the remainder of the letter.

Seeing the suffering as a gift, as part of our communion with Christ stands in contrast to how many of us view suffering. “I don’t deserve this,” many of us think. Maybe a better response is, “I’m not made for this. But, Christ is honored even in my suffering.” 

In his letter to the Roman church he says, “For I do not consider that the sufferings of this present time are are worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” As great as the suffering, as deep as the anguish so will the glory be high and magnificent. Our darkness will be turned to a blinding light beyond anything we can imagine.

The pain from our suffering is evidence of our standing with Christ, not evidence of our disobedience. That said, is all our suffering evidence of our standing with Christ? Are there times we suffer because we make sinful choices?

“He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see,” explained the the once blind beggar. The Pharisees were incredulous. Similarly, in the aftermath of Lazarus’ resurrection, they wanted to kill Lazarus so as to silence his testimony. People like the beggar and Lazarus had seen and been seen by Jesus. This drew other people to Jesus, which was infuriating for the managers of Religious Status Quo. 

“What are you preaching about tomorrow?” Meeka asked me Saturday night. She’s funny like that.

“Jesus is alive,” I answered her in a dry, matter-of-fact voice. The more I read and prepared and prayed, a very simple, elemental, sensual, and simple truth captured my attention about the Resurrection Story. One word kept showing up in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Seeing.

Easter is about seeing Jesus.

Mary sees Jesus. Peter sees Jesus. Thomas sees Jesus. The frightened and anxious disciples were glad that they saw Jesus. And, more importantly, they were glad that Jesus saw them. We truly see Jesus because he has first seen us; he has looked our way when we weren’t looking.

So, I preached about seeing. 

To see is to behold; it involves a certain level of comprehension, disclosure. It is an experience that, depending upon the gravity and importance, can leave you changed forever. Moreover, to see another is to be seen by them. Sometimes we have so many expectations, aspirations, hurts, questions, even statements in the making, which in effect blind us. We have the physical sensation of seeing their form, but in the end we are looking at them as an object or a looking glass.

Annie Dillard writes about seeing in her book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. As a little girl she enjoyed hiding pennies on a sidewalk in front of her house. Arrows would direct passerby’s to the hidden pennies. The treasure was there for the taking! But few people stooped to pick up a penny despite the fact that the world is “fairly studded and strewn with pennies cast broadside from a generous hand.” She continues, 

“It is dire poverty indeed when a man is so malnourished and fatigued that he won’t stoop to pick up a penny. But, if you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then… you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. It’s that simple. What you see is what you get.”

We are prone to wait for the quarters, silver dollars, and suitcases full of cash before we stop to take notice. But, Ms. Dillard also reminds me that, according to Scripture, we simply cannot see the value of those pennies without God’s grace, which opens our eyes to our greedy hearts and Jesus’ love. God’s grace carves out that sense of healthy poverty. 

For good reason Mary is first to the tomb that morning. Had Peter been able to run faster than John, he would have been second! But he was the first to go inside. 

Jesus delivered Mary from seven demons. Peter had denied even knowing Jesus three days earlier. Both had a “healthy sense of poverty,” you could say. “Blessed are those who are poor in spirit.” Grace had opened their eyes to how desperately blind they were before Jesus looked their way. That’s what the grace of God does for all of us. That’s why Paul relishes the weakness, suffering, and discouragement of his life. “When I’m weak [poor] you are strong [rich]” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

To behold, experience, or to see Jesus is to be seen by Jesus in our worst, sin-ravaged place. It is to be a blind beggar washing mud from our face to have light shinning in our eyes for the very first time. 

Peter and John ran back to hide with the others. They saw an empty tomb but didn’t understand what was happening. Mary stayed. She cried and cried that morning before she saw angels and the Gardner. She couldn’t see Jesus that morning, even though he was standing before her. She couldn’t seen him until he had seen her and said her name, “Mary.” 

We awoke to heavy clouds yesterday morning. Let’s face it… We all associate blue skies and bright sunshine with Easter morning. But, I liked what God did with the weather here in Houston. Things started out grey and actually got much worse. Late in the afternoon the clouds parted to reveal a brilliant blue sky. The air was cool, for Houston in April! Today is more of the same.

Now I can see!