SUFFERING | Themed Contribution

People sometimes say that the God in the Old Testament (OT) is very different from the God in the New Testament (NT). In the OT, He’s unloving, angry, and violent, but He’s loving, peaceful, and caring in the NT.

I’ve been reading the Bible from cover to cover this year and I don’t see this disparity. God’s character is consistent the whole way through. On many instances, God showed His people compassion when they suffered and reached out to Him. When unfaithful Israelite kings repented and pleaded with God, He was merciful. When prophets begged Him to not destroy the cities, He was abundantly compassionate.

I know for sure that God understands suffering and responds to it with compassion. He did so most powerfully through Jesus’ death on the cross. Jesus, in his compassion, mercy, and love, suffered in a way He didn’t deserve so that we wouldn’t have to suffer the eternal separation from God.

Suffering exists everywhere around us. I don’t think I’ll ever understand suffering but I’m grateful that God does, and He responds to it with His compassion.

About Christine C

I’m a hand lettering artist – partly because of a desire to create beautiful things but more importantly because they have the potential to encourage people – people tell me I’ve made a difference to them. These motivations spur me create hand lettered Bible verses. God’s Words are the most encouraging, poignant, challenging words out there, so it seems worthwhile for me to share them in a medium which is easy and accessible to many people.

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