Brokenness

Why did God allow brokenness to enter the world? Why did he allow the suffering that comes with it break the ties He had with man? Was it all a test right from the beginning? Is God just trying to find out where our loyalties lie? Or is God a capricious God who loves to test our limits or keep us guessing about His intentions? Or maybe God just wants to make Man pay for his bad choices in the Garden?

Our world is torn and grieving for the pain and suffering of brokenness. Loneliness and shame seem to be the hallmarks. Humans don’t innately know what to do about pain and suffering they see around them. And when they shy away from those who suffer, it leaves the sufferer lonely and reinforces shame. The sufferer is ashamed of his/her condition and others are ashamed because they didn’t know what to do about it. I suppose shame also started in the Garden. Physical and relational shame was the result of Adam and Eve’s choices.

So where is God in all this? The age old question is, “If God is a God of love, why does He allow suffering? And if He cannot control the suffering, then is He really God?” Is it possible to see a God who weeps with us, a broken and hurting people? Can we believe that in God’s plan to redeem all things back to Himself, he will need to stand by at times and watch His people suffer and choose not to intervene? Is the transformation from brokenness to wholeness really possible in this world?