Ah, the problem of reconciling the reality of "Pain and Suffering" with the existence of a "Loving God" is one of the most difficult for believers. But I must reconcile these two for myself. They are both true, at the same time, and are not logically inconsistent. That is the philosophical hypothesis. The Scriptures, both Hebrew and Christian, do address this problem, but have several odd ways of concluding it. Chambers uses Isaiah 53:3 to enter into the discussion from the standpoint that Jesus is the reconciliation of these two truths.
The problem, as Chambers puts it, is sin. The only issue that would need to be resolved with this point of view is suffering of "innocents" or children. The problem as it is usually stated is that suffering children have not had a chance to "sin" and have not "earned" the consequences they suffer. Perhaps John Calvin's position of inherent sin explains part of it, but not sufficiently for unbelievers. My point of view of this specific element heads toward free-will and concentric consequences. I am not the only one who suffers for my choices. Often my choices have consequences for others, perhaps children (not me specifically, but conceptually).
Chambers solution to the problem as he states it is Jesus. Jesus is the only solution for the inherent sin within each person. But he goes on to say that a life of sin is a life apart from God. That is the part where my life has not borne out this idea. I have suffered and struggled with an addiction for much of my adult life. And yet the evidence of my Master's presence and care in, and of, my life is clear. So, yes, I lived a sinful life, but my Master refused to define me with that sin. Yes, my sin is what required my Master to suffer, to die, and to be raised again. Yet this He did willingly…something that still makes me pause and almost break down emotionally.
Evil and suffering in this world argues for our need for my Master. The evil in my life and the suffering I endure and cause is the catalyst for my need for my Master. I am carried along, submerged in this dependence. And yet I fight it, struggling for independence; an independence that would destroy me if I attained it. It's like I have been trying to drown, but my Master keeps hauling me to the shore.
In this discussion of pain, evil, suffering, darkness and woe, the question that refuses to be drowned out, continues to whisper through my soul, and echoes through the hollows of my mind is "WHY DOES MY MASTER LOVE ME SO?" I am a participant in this evil, this suffering, the darkness and woe. Why would my Master consider one such as me? There are a lot of ones such as me, and He considers them too. But that still does not answer the question. Dark ominous clouds bring thunder, and this question shatters all other noise like thunder under the dark clouds of evil and pain. It is sound that seems to crush to the ground all beneath it, and everyone is compelled to look up.
There is no "balance" when my Master enters the discussion of pain and suffering. There is no equalizing offset of good versus evil, or joy versus pain, or love versus hate. When my Master enters the discussion, good, joy, and love overwhelm all other contenders. The weight of the truth of my Master simply crushes any scale or value of measurement, and here's why.
The enormity of this universe I live in makes all my troubles, all the evil I read of or hear of, all the deadly damage that the inhabitants of this planet endure infinitesimally small by comparison. That is depressing, until the Master of all the infinite limits of this universe, the One keeping it moving and spinning and Who has been for millions of years or more, comes along side this infinitesimally small person at the point of my pain, and all the evil. Why would He do that, with all the other things He has that He can be doing and that can take His attention, why me? When I gain the perspective of my Master along side me compared to the evil and pain around me, He's so glorious, that the other stuff becomes illuminated in the most extraordinary way.
My job in part, is to carry this perspective to those who see only the darkness, pain, evil, and woe. Once I share that perspective, if someone is able to reframe with it, their world will never be the same. It doesn't make the pain, evil, and woe go away, but does enable me to face it with courage and hope. And that is saying a lot, in any language.
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