It’s a common perception among many people that God causes suffering. From a Christian Science point of view, this belief is impossible, for God is Love, as the Bible teaches (I John 4:8).
God would never inflict harm on His beloved creation.
As Science explains, all suffering, pain, and sorrow, is the effect of believing evil has power. The suffering has nothing to do with God. It’s a false belief about God that causes the suffering, and the remedy is to gain a correct understanding of God. As Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science explains, “It is our ignorance of God, the divine Principle, which produces apparent discord, and the right understanding of Him restores harmony” (Science and Health, p. 390).
Never blame God for suffering. It’s not His fault.
The belief that God causes us to suffer to teach us lessons, is a man-made concept of God patterned after the belief that God is like a human, acting like a cruel parent who believes his child will grow faster through suffering, rather than through love, wisdom and intelligent action.
God is present to help us out of suffering, to conquer it, master it and leave it behind.
God loves us! God wants only the best for us and gives us the best.
You don’t have to suffer. You can be free, and God is here to set you free!
Thank you. Love how absolute the statements of Truth are about God! I have shared in Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn (no sharing button here for Linkedin). Appreciate your inspiration for every blog you write.
Understanding and living in God’s Loving arms. Finding freedom from pain is ever available through the realization that God is all.
Saturday a practitioner was called to help with the seeming presence of dizziness, a claim that had continually presented itself. In a little while I found myself at peace for the entire rest of the day. I did nothing but rest and sleep. Completely at peace as pain in other extremities was relieved as well.
This blessed practitioner holds absolutely to the principals of Science. In doing so she heals the sick.
I’m very grateful for Science which unfolds continually the facts of being. Bringing rest and peace to the weary.
I’m very grateful for God’s anointed practitioners, who through their understanding dismiss the claims of material sense.
I’m very grateful for this avenue to bring into the thought every day a certain message to uplift the day’s experience and bring us closer to God.
Thank you David for sharing your healing. Godspeed! (=
If God caused suffering, there could be nothing but suffering and therefore no joy. Because there is joy, suffering cannot paramount to it for joy is an Spiritual expression of God. Thank you Evan, for this wonderful thought.
Another name for God is Love. Love can only impart happiness, health, peace, bliss, comfort, protection, warmth, affection and everything good. But never ever punishment. If our human mom and dad are so loving and strive to give us the best of everything, then just imagine how infinitely loving our Divine Father Mother God is to all of us, His beloved children.
The sun shines equally brilliant on all….the good and the not so good. So too God loves us all.
Whatever good or bad we do comes back to us like an echo. Why then blame God when something goes wrong in our life? Whatever we sow we will reap. “The good we do and embody gives us the only power obtainable”
Thanks Evan for this lovely understanding of today.
Many years ago, when I was having a conversation with someone about God. I remember saying that God does
not cause suffering. She responded that she thought that God allowed suffering….i guess to teach us lessons.
Thank you for the reminder that God as Love can cause
only good.
Very important message Evan, thank you!
Thanks!
When you think about it ..why would the One Presence and Power motivated solely by Love ever consider hurting, limiting, denying or abandoning Itself?? it’s impossible – we wouldn’t be here if it was! HOWEVER, if we choose to invert the law by thinking it is possible we must experience the effects UNTIL we wake up (or in some cases take a nap) and allow the Truth of Being full flow as our lives!
I feel better already!
Very powerful. Thank you
Just another take on the message for today.
At times people are confused because Jesus suffered the cross, the experience of crucifixion, despite his absolute purity, and when Peter tried to deny this on Jesus’ prediction/prophecy, Jesus rebuked him. So why the ultimate pain and anguish? It’s better explained in Science and Health as the world’s hatred of Truth. And at times we may suffer from the overturning of our own beliefs. It’s not always peachy, and we do go through trials and tribulations, definitely not given of God, but bewildering at times, especially as these challenge us when we feel we are walking in The Way, as did Jesus. But, these can be welcomed (blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven – Matt 5:10) and overcome knowing that we will drop a little more of our material beliefs at the other end, and climb higher up the mountain.
I too would like to express gratitude for all the responses, but especially this one. Many dear people confuse the fact that conforming to Love requires obedience. Many who stray feel justified and when they realize things are not as they seem there truly is an opportunity at hand for blessing. Love is righteous- right thinking, thinking out from Love. It recently dawned on thought that many who are not comfortable with righteous living perceive Truth to be a judge and destroyer.
This was gleaned from an article about the Gadarene’s experience and the way people of that area asked Jesus and his apostles to depart. The man inexorably was pulled from the hills and tombs to confront Truth and seemed to view Christ Jesus in this way. Once he found self-knowledge, obedience and peace he was ready to share the healing message with his country men and next time Jeses came, “The people gladly received him.”
Frida: Thank you for your take on this subject! I’ve had conversations on this with friends & I think
I may have missed the points you made! Next time I hopefully will remember them!
Thank you Evan for bringing this subject forward & all the remarks made!
I meant to spell FARIDA, sorry!
Evan,
I understand what you are saying and I think it is easy to see this for ourselves because life is really good. But, as a child, I saw a very young teenage girl, pleading with her boyfriend because she was pregnant and felt, I am guessing, very vulnerable. Her boyfriend responded back to her that “he was dating another girl now”. And, this is not just a women’s issue, thus the term “chai boy”. It would appear that there are mortals that are “good” and “bad” and that one should avoid such mortals. Clearly God has made everyone capable of expressing a great deal of good but not everyone chooses to express that goodness. And, some are very ignorant of it. Jeffrey Epstein clearly never understood what love was. Can you imagine looking for love that desperately and never finding it and then committing suicide? What a horrible life. Although materially it appears he got his needs met through some very terrible actions, in reality, he never did and that is why he so desperately sought to hurt people trying to fill that void. Had he ever experienced Love, he never would have needed to do that. He would have been out blessing people instead. So, my question is, how does one help a Jeffrey Epstein or a mass murderer to see/experience Love? Because, not everyone is as fortunate to have parents that helped them see/feel this Love. And, yes, it is available for everyone. And, if we can help people see this Love (rather than see them as something that needs to be purged from society), it would improve our society by decreasing the number of mass murders and sexual predators. And, it would decrease the number of people who feel they need to hold high positions to have power over people/feel powerful rather than to help people because they are empowered. What has helped you most to succeed in this? Patience?
Your blog post today has been so helpful. It seems that humanely we live in such a punitive and judgmental world, that when one has a sense of suffering it can be easy to subtly project those attributes to God and think we have done something wrong that we are being punished for. It is astounding when we get a glimpse of the pure goodness and love of God, and realize that God does not possess a trace of those qualities, and in no way supports suffering.
Thank you Evan,
and all the comments from your readers-community!
It also makes me think of Jesus’ words “Judge not that ye be not judged.”
I need to be more alert to the absolute Truth of God’s Love,
It is like sunshine, and blesses everyone equally with GOOD..
I do not believe that God brings suffering. I have only suffered from hanging on to lies. I sometimes think that communities live in collective lies, somewhat like mass hypnotism. People say why doesn’t God do something if God loves us so much? I think some people who appeal are shown a way out of a nightmare. I guess where I still have a problem is when it comes to innocent children and their safety and dying. I know our prayers and understanding more of the truth can tip the balance in the consciousness of the world,
The correction needed is in the first sentence. Reverse it “It’s NOT a common perception among many people that God causes suffering”. In fact intelligence or common sense is reflected among many people knowing natural good is normal reflected daily in their lives. We are truly enjoying this attribute of being so normally and casually like taking it for granted. To me I see this everywhere, there are more happy wholesome good than suffering kind. Everything contrary to this is fake news, fake views and the untrue image and likeness of God, good which is trying to grab our attention by the false narrator of Genesis 2 which is a fake story of life experience. The Divine human coincidence is ongoing moment by moment unfolding harmony perpetually in all walks of life here. See a difference from this standpoint. This is really happening after you change your basis of seeing. We are here to see the incarnation of Truth (S &,H pg 501-502) which is called natural good. You don’t even need to gain enlightenment or grow spiritual sense to see this Truth, it is another seeing organ of natural good we have already.
Thank you very much Evan, for your so freeing, comforting and inspiring divine message of your yesterday`s wonderful SpiritView!
Am also grateful that I often read here so lovely and inspired comments. 🙂