We live in world of suffering and are reminded of it every day. The photographs of the recent rail crash in India show the tangled wreckage of the trains in which, tragically, more than 200 people died and many more were injured. The destruction of countless communities in Ukraine by the Russian forces sent to “liberate” them. The daily trauma of Ukrainian people either continuing to live in their devastated communities or living in other countries where they have fled for refuge. The Sudanese conflict in cities like Khartoum or in Darfur where people are unable to get the daily necessities they need or to bury the innocent civilians who have been killed. The suffering of women and children in Yemen and Afghanistan no longer hits the headlines, but their plight continues to be desperate.
Who cares for these and other suffering people around the world? Do our hearts break as we watch news reports of the plight of our fellow human beings? Do we have compassion for them – a sympathetic pity and concern for them in their suffering? What must it be like to live in a Turkish or Syrian community destroyed by earthquakes or to live in a tented refugee camp for years? Do we remember them or pray for them?
Some people say that they no longer believe in God because of the suffering in the world. But to whom else can we turn? Why do we blame God for the wicked actions of rulers and evil? God is deeply committed to justice. One day he will judge us all. All tyrants will receive what they deserve. No-one “gets away with” their sinful actions.
God is also compassionate. He deeply cares for the poor and the powerless. He hears their cries for help and deliverance. God’s compassion was wonderfully seen in the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus. Christian faith looks to him in every situation knowing that he is in heaven and cares for us more than anyone else. The letter to the Hebrews tells us, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”