But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:8
By high school she’d been through 12 different foster-care homes. Tori Hope Petersen’s young heart had grown callous toward God and people.
Petersen’s story is a beautiful one of redemption but coming to faith was a process that took several years. “The one question I couldn’t shake,” she said, “revolved around innocent children: If God is so good, then why do they suffer?” She couldn’t find an answer, but says, “When I looked at Scripture, I saw a God who didn’t shy away from pain but embraced it so that others would know love. And when I looked at the lives of those who most reminded me of Jesus, I could see how they had sacrificed on my behalf.”[1]
Sergey Nakul has also had a first-hand view of suffering. A pastor in war-torn Ukraine, Nakul says, “When people tell me, ‘This God is unfair and gives us trash!’ I ask them, ‘Which God is that?’ (paraphrased). For when I focus my eyes on Calvary, I see my God. And my God…in his own skin…felt all the depth of injustice and violence of mankind on the Cross…when I look at the cross of Calvary, I know one thing: my God is not that god.”[2]
Yes, Scripture says, “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8). We can rely on this love, even in our questions.
[1] Petersen, Tori Hope. “The Father I Yearned for Was Already There.” Christianity Today July/August 2022, no. 66, No. 5, June 21, 2022.
[2] Nakul, Sergey, “When They Tell Me This God is Unfair.” Facebook, June 16, 2022, www.facebook.com. Accessed June 21, 2022.
