Life Library — Suffering
Adding or Subtracting?
Hurts and heartaches can destroy us, unless we learn to let go. But how can you forgive and forget injustice? Christians forgive and forget because God has forgiven and forgotten their sins. Christians are able to forgive because they know that those who hurt others are often victims themselves.
An Attitude of Gratitude
No matter what our burdens, no matter what our sin — including ingratitude! — Jesus comes to us and takes us to the foot of the cross, where we see how much He loves us. He shows us that because we are His children, all the blessings of God are ours.
A Blind Woman Made Me See
She was just a blind woman whom God had touched. And she wanted to tell others what great things He had done for her.
Ethics and Suffering
How are Christians to respond to this shift in the ethics of medicine today? The path that seems most appropriate is to begin with recognizing the distinctiveness, in our case, of a Lutheran Christian worldview. It is a worldview that invites us to be "in the world, but not of the world."
He Knows Our Pain
God grace is sufficient, also for the sadness of a stillbirth.
How Long
We ask, "How long will you defend the unjust, O God, and show favor to the wicked?" God points to the cross and says: "As long as I possibly can. And I invite you to wait and work with me, and bear with me the burden of this agonizing question, 'How long?'"
The Problem of Suffering
It is hopeful to say that our suffering is from God, for then we know to whom we must turn who is good and omnipotent and will turn our tears into joy in heaven. This is the theology of the cross.
Surprised by Suffering
Martin Luther once wrote: "Without trials . . . a person can know neither Scripture nor faith, nor can he fear and love God. If he has never suffered, he cannot understand what hope is."
To Hell and Back
When your child is seriously ill, your world turns upside down. But there is hope. Sometimes, when you look past the hardship, you can find God's blessings.