The ultimate removal of suffering

The victory won by Jesus through his death and resurrection is given in the Bible as the guarantee of his final triumph, when he will judge the world and usher in "a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness" (2 Peter 3:13). In that day "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" (Revelation 21:4). As Philip Yancey, one of today's most helpful writers on the problem of suffering, puts it, "God's miracle of transforming Bad Friday into Easter Sunday will be enlarged to cosmic scale."

How glorious that future will be is beyond our full understanding, though the New Testament gives us some clues if we will but search them out. We need to have long-term goals that have as their end-view God's ultimate purpose for us in his kingdom. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, executed by the Nazis for his stand against Hitler, wrote from prison, "In view of our supreme purpose, the present difficulties and disappointments seem trivial." For the person who is trusting in Jesus, there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

A Ugandan Christian, Henry, was on a bus that was attacked by guerrillas. Half his face was blown away. A Christian organisation got him to Montreal where he had many operations. David Watson, an Anglican clergyman, tells of his visit with him. He could not help flinching when he saw the mask that was once a face. But Henry's eyes still sparkled. He was unable to speak, but he wrote on paper for David, "God never promises us an easy time. Just a safe arrival." Thank God that we have that assurance. As St. Clement of Alexandria put it, Christ has turned all our sunsets into dawn.