Chalke Talk 32: God suffers too

Last week Steve argued that the God's holiness means he's different, but not necessarily separated from us. This week Steve continues thinking along these lines as to whether God suffers or not. As Steve asks, "could it be that God who loves more than any other being in the universe also suffers the most?"

Could this be the very reason that God shielded his face from Moses? Steve reflects on both his personal experiences of suffering and pain, as well as Nicholas Wolterstorff's book which recounts the suffering he experiences after his son passed away, and finds that "to love is to suffer, and, because God IS love he suffers great suffering."

So what do you think? Could it be that the pain of all the suffering that has ever taken place has been etched onto God’s face? Could it be that God’s ‘holiness’ or ‘differentness – as we discovered the word means last week, be chiefly his love (the very quality by which the New Testament defines him) – and the pain, which is the inevitable consequence of that love?

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