Why Do Christians Suffer?
When we are in a mess and there are things in our lives we find extremely distasteful, unjust, intolerable or painful, we experience suffering - and we tend to ask questions. “Why, Lord?” is a frequent response. And sometimes, when we are focused only on self, we even ask, “Why ME, Lord?” Here are some examples of life’s tragedies: Jenny moved to the city a year ago to attend university. She now has new friends and leads a busy social life, but most of her friends do not believe in Jesus. More and more she slips into their habits. She doesn’t talk about her faith any more because she knows they wouldn’t like it. She hardly finds time to meet with other Christians. She still talks to God, but their times together become shorter and less frequent. When she first arrived, things seemed to go well for her and she loved her new life. But gradually her mind became focused on worldly things, and she began to feel more and more dissatisfied. Now her grades are slipping, some of...