Christ and Suffering

There is a common secular objection to God existing and/or being Good due to the large amount of suffering that exists on earth. Ladislas Boros (1917 - ) has this take on Mark 6: 1-6 and it provides a succinct reply to the objection.

The God-Man is our Redeemer. But as our Redeemer his task was not to take our suffering away, however much he may have wished to do so, but to share in our suffering himself, to sanctify it, and to make it a means of redempion for each of us. . . What is human must persist with all its darkness But into this darkness there comes the call of redemption, a call to live out our wretched existence in a new way, on the basis of new principles and promises. This is redemption. Anything else would be magic. But let no one deceive himself: to endure this was a heart-breaking act even for one who was God and man. What an immense tension he had to endure! On the one hand, his mercy urged him irresistibly to give his help, while at the same time his hands were bound by the very nature of his divine task. His soul was martyred thoughout his life.

This certainly gives a person more appreciation for the sacrifice Jesus made for us, and a greater understanding of the extent of it. To me, personally, it increases my wish that I could truly die to self and take the Lord's will as my sole reason for existence. Would that I could put away my pride and selfishness!