The Theology of Healing
Posted by Pastor Pat on March 25, 2009
There are certain vocations that expose the practitioner to those who suffer and are in pain. All those within the medical profession encounter people in ill-health and chronic pain. Those in the ministry of the church are likewise regularly faced with those who suffer either emotionally and/or physically. Everyone inside those professions must wrestle with the nature of suffering and pain.
John Stott has said that “the fact of suffering undoubtedly constitutes the single greatest challenge to the Christian faith.” It is unquestionably true that there is no greater obstacle to faith than that of the reality of evil and suffering in the world. Indeed, even for the believing Christian, there is no greater test of faith than this — that the God who loves him permits him to suffer, at times in excruciating ways. And the disillusionment is intensified in our day when unrealistic expectations of health and prosperity are fed by the teachings of a multitude of Christian teachers. Why does a good God allow his creatures, and even his children to suffer? (“The Problem of Evil: How Can a Good God Allow Evil?” Rick Rood)
