Without sin there would be no suffering, but what about love? Perhaps without love there would be no suffering. If we didn't love others, we wouldn't be bothered by their pain. If we didn't love ourselves we wouldn't be bothered by that pain either. And if we love God, we cannot help but be bothered by suffering. God is just, to love Him is to hate injustice. God is holy, to love Him is to hate sin. God is love, and to love Him is to be loving. But if God is love and He loves us, then He must suffer? And if He suffers, why prolong His suffering? Why not come back now? He is long-suffering that many would come to repentance. He asks us to know Him in the fellowship of His suffering. Do we wait in this world of suffering for love of many that still have not seen Christ and His glory?
And then the thought that the suffering itself can become a blessing. Now life gets even more confusing. As Wolterstorff questions, "How do I tell my blessings? For what do I give thanks and for what do I lament?... How do I sustain my 'No' to my son's early death while accepting with gratitude the opportunity offered of becoming what otherwise i could never be?"
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