Why does God let there be dying?
For Meditation (Corey Widmer)
This week's question is not just a really great kid question, but is one of the the oldest and toughest questions people asked about God. Even in ancient times, people rarely questioned the existence of God, but they did question the goodness of God. How could he possibly be a good God if he allows such sorrow, pain, and death in the world?
On Sunday we’ll explore this question not just from an intellectual perspective but also from an experiential one. We know that suffering is something we all face from time to time and that millions of people in the world face every day. But ultimately we’ll look at how God answers us in suffering, and how he doesn’t give us a set of solutions, but instead gives us his own person. What we see in the Bible is a God who comes down into the middle of our suffering -to bear our death and suffering with us in the incarnation, and ultimately to defeat it and promise a new day of life through the resurrection.
As you prepare for worship this week, consider the following:
Read through John 11:1-44 on your own or in your Parish Group. What most jumps out at you in this story? What strikes you about how Jesus' approach to this family's tragedy?
Where do you most feel the tension of this question in your own life? Have there been times when you have struggled to understand why God would allow pain or loss in your story?
What does Jesus’ weeping in John 11 (v.35) reveal about God’s posture toward our suffering? How does it change your view of God to know that Jesus wept at the tomb?
Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” What does that mean to you personally? How is this different from Jesus simply saying, “I will give you resurrection and life”?
How does the promise of resurrection change the way we live in a world where death and suffering are still realities? What does it mean to live in hope while still acknowledging grief?
What are practical ways our community can reflect God’s comfort to one another in times of suffering? How can we “weep with those who weep” while also holding on to resurrection hope?
John 11:17–26
On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”