Making sense of suffering

Yesterday I quoted the words of Takashi Nagai. I want to quote him one last time. Here he again addresses his children, but he speaks more about his understanding of the meaning of suffering in this passage.

Who among us hasn't wondered why a loving God allows his children to suffer? Haven't you ever wondered why it seems that life sometimes seems unfair? Read Nagai's explanation, and let me know what you think.

Soon you will be orphans and, willy-nilly, must climb a steep, rugged and lonely path. Your Christian faith will be no drug that anesthetizes pain. But I can assure you of this: your lonely path is precisely what God in his Providence has chosen, especially for you! Accept it as such and often ask him: How can I use this for your glory? This is no popular psychology, no clever method for shaking off the blues. No, it's the one authentic response to the mystery of life. When you are happy, accept that too as his Providence, and in prayer ask him to guard this happiness for his glory.

Sickness and trouble are not a sign that we are far from God or that he has rejected us... No, we don't believe in a God of small deeds who lets his favorites win lotteries and capriciously ignores the others. He is too great to act like that... He will always respond to real prayer, though!

You'll often see sick people, who know how to pray, getting better. That's not necessarily miraculous. It is often the natural result of living in the milieu of his peace and grace. I could be cured miraculously of leukemia, and that would be good. If I'm not cured, that's good, too, and it won't bother me a scrap. All that I am concerned about is what his plans are for me; the only life that interests me is one lived for him... one day at a time, supported by prayer.

God has never said you have to perform great deeds for your country and humanity to have lived well. Where would that leave all the sick people in the world? Look at me, for instance, needing to be assisted all the time. You wouldn't say that we sick and bedridden of the world are "useful"! But usefulness is not the point. Our lives are of great worth if we accept with good grace the situation Providence places us in and go on living lovingly. A sick person who has grasped this will live so full a life that there will be no room for morbid death wishes.

Some get themselves into a knot over the "unfairness" of God's Providence. Why are some people afflicted with low IQs, handicapped bodies, weak physiques, material poverty? I don't know , but I can assure you of this: if all of us accepts ourselves as we are, it is absolutely certain that a day will come when we can see how God's plans have been accomplished, and precisely through our weakness... Our talents and handicaps may differ greatly, but we are all equal in this: each of us is born to manifest God's glory, to know, love, and serve him here below, and share in his eternal life after death...

All of us will have to render an account of our lives when we die. God will not be interested in who or what we were. No, only in this: how did we live? That will be the sole matter for judgment... All will be judged by exactly the same measure: did we use our talents well and for his glory?

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