BOOK REVIEW: THE PROBLEM OF PAIN by C.S. LEWIS

If you have been reading the Bible continually, you would have noticed that Jesus promised suffering to His followers, on this side of eternity. In chapter 8 of Mark’s Gospel, not long after Jesus had revealed His purpose to His disciples, He says the following:

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it."
(34‭-‬35 NIV)

What you may not have given much thought to, is that God may reserve special types of suffering (or crosses) for different types of people, as part of the bigger body of His church. At first this might sound extremely sadistic or even macabre to you. What kind of God would purposefully make people suffer? you might think.

I’ll tell you what kind of God. The same God who made the vast loneliness of the universe.The same God who sheds a tree naked in a sea of red, yellow and brown leaves. The same God who turns a flowering rose bed into seemingly dead stumps, but after some pruning, makes it bloom even more beautifully than the previous year. The same God who buries a dead seed deep into the dark soil and makes it grow roots and produce a seedling. The same God who would break the bones of his sheep, so that it doesn't keep wandering into the wolf’s den, and then carrying it on His shoulders. The same God who takes away a dead and sinful heart and gives it new life through the Holy Spirit. The same God who gave His only Son, Jesus, to die the most brutal, horrifying and humiliating death on a cross, so that our pain will only be limited to our earthly lives.

Are you seeing it? There is a peculiar melancholy, beauty and even holiness in sadness and pain, be it in nature or in humans. Jesus affirms the beauty and holiness of suffering in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter five:

Blessed are the poor in spirit,  for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.   

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
(verses 3‭-‬4‭, ‬10‭-‬12 NIV)

James, Jesus’ brother, similarly wrote the following in the first chapter of his epistle:

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
(verse 12 NIV)

The word blessed can also be translated as experiencing the fullness of God. Both of these authors agree that those who go through trials, are blessed, or will experience the fullness of God. Wow! Nothing can be better than experiencing the fullness of God.

Both of these authors also agreed that there will be a great reward in heaven for those who have persevered in following Jesus through trials and persecution.

I previously pointed out that God may reserve special types of suffering for different types of people. Do you think that God also perhaps reserves special types of glory for different types of people when they arrive in Heaven, as part of the Kingdom of God? 

Is your personality, character, strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes simply coincidental? Do you sometimes feel that you belong nowhere? That might be because God created a special and perfect mould or role for you as part of God’s family, that will only be fulfilled once we leave our earthly bodies behind.

What if God is moulding and pruning us, ridding us of our selfish selves throughout our earthly journey, so that we will perfectly fit the mould He has created for us in heaven?

P.s. C.S. Lewis wrote THE PROBLEM OF PAIN after the death of his wife. This book will help you to see pain, whether it be physical or emotional, in a transformative way as part of the Christian life.