In Jesus’ death, God suffers in love, identifying with us
“Christianity alone among the world religions claims that God became uniquely and fully human in Jesus Christ and therefore knows firsthand despair, rejection, loneliness, poverty, bereavement, torture, and imprisonment. On the cross he went beyond even the worst human suffering and experienced cosmic rejection and pain that exceeds ours as infinitely as his knowledge and power exceeds ours. In his death, God suffers in love, identifying with the abandoned and godforsaken. Why did he do it? The Bible says that Jesus came on a rescue mission for creation. He had to pay for our sins so that someday he can end evil and suffering without ending us.”
- Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism (New York, NY: Dutton, 2008), 30.
[HT: Of First Importance]
As I think through Theodicy, I see (by analogy) a stool with four legs:
- God’s Omnipotence,
- His Omniscience,
- His Love & Goodness, and
- His entering into His creation to suffer with us.
I’ve found that many who attempt to give a Christian reason why a good and sovereign God would allow suffering either limit God’s omniscience, limit His ability, while wanting to uphold His goodness. Each of those three must be upheld, but a fourth point must also must be added to the mix, for God is not some distant deity. While transcendent and separate from His creation, He has come near, and remains imminent, working, sustaining, loving. In the incarnation God became a Man, revealing Himself to us in the best possible way. And He suffered with us. (Wow!)
In a cohesive theodicy, all four categories are important, as God has revealed Himself as infinitely able, all-wise and knowing, abounding in love and goodness, and possessing an unrivaled humility that brought Him into this world in the Son. Each of this attributes speak of God’s infinite beauty and value, for He is worth more than we can ever imaging. And since He is glorious, and we are His, what does that make us?
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I hope to read Keller’s book this year. His wisdom, insights love for God are compelling, and even if he ends up being only half as engaging in writing than when speaking, the book will be well worth its price.
- More about Tim Keller (links/resources), his church, and his new book, The Reason for God.
- For those who engage a missional mindset, I highly recommend Keller’s article on the Missional Church
March 1st, 2008 at 6:50 pm
It would seem to me that #4 isn’t really another category that we must uphold in attempting a cohesive theodicy like the other three. #4 isn’t another divine attribute challenging us in how to form theodicy, but rather is undeniable, tangible proof that God has a theodicy and it is good. We may struggle to come up with a coherent way to bring the other three legs together under stool (I think anyway that doesn’t struggle with it, hasn’t really thought about it), but #4 assures that God figured it out. He considered our situation, and rather than tossing out suffering, joined us in it, and therefore we can trust Him in His plan.
March 1st, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Kris,
I agree. My stool used to be explicitly “three-stooled,” but then I began to see (with your help actually!) the arguments made as merely cognitive, as we are speaking for God, and not allowing for the affective aspect — God entered human history and suffered we us!
So perhaps I could clarify that I see the first three as categories and the last one as more of the ultimate reality. Well, all four are ultimate reality, for God’s attributes, as being perfect are His perfections, and thus are not ‘part’ of Him, but His revealed nature through and through.
I like your phrase [#4} “is tangible, undeniable proof that God has a theodicy and it is good.” Wow. I have to sit and ponder that statement. It is profound. Seriously, I would think that statement would be Keller’s book.
Would you think the analogy could be changed to a three-legged stool, with the intersection of the three legs being what I mentioned as #4 — namely, that in Christ God Almighty, All-knowing, All-good, has come to live and dwell and suffer with His creation. After all, the greatest harm that was ever done to a person (in terms of being against a person of the greatest value/worth) is the crucifixion of the Son of God — and that was all part of God’s definite, expressly revealed plan (Acts 2:23). God has suffered with us more than physically…
“He considered our situation, and rather than tossing out suffering, joined us in it, and therefore we can trust Him in His plan.” Well said.
March 1st, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Thanks for the appreciation, and I agree with how you state it as well. Your observation about the God/Jesus having received the most harm of anyone (and yet the most undeserving) is super point. When the biggest victim in class-action lawsuit drops the charges, it makes you wonder doesn’t it? (especially when is he is a really good attorney :))
My thoughts on this aren’t original, they were some book I read once (can’t remember the author/title, Willie recommended it), where the author basically just spent most of the time tearing a part various theodicies (rather depressing actually) but ended with asserting the significance of Him joining us in suffering.