We cannot explain some of the pain and suffering that happens to us. We love to ask 'why' and seek to avoid trouble. The Jews prefer using the cause-and-effect rationale, i.e. sin is the reason for suffering. Doubtless, sin often leads to suffering – a lazy person's life will more likely than not be hard, and this is an obvious example of cause-and-effect. Paul also said that a man reaps what he sows. Cause-and-effect, however, is not the sole reason for pain and suffering.

There is an illustration in John 9:1-7. A man was blind since birth and the disciples asked Jesus why this happened to the man. Jesus' reply was ingenious, "…this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life"! Please note: it does not mean that God creates suffering in order to display His might. The existence of suffering can be traced back to the most fundamental assumption: When Adam and Eve sinned, the land was cursed, pain and suffering followed. Creation from the beginning was without curse. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve only enjoyed the presence of the LORD and suffering was never from Him. The Book of Revelation states that there will be no sorrow and pain in the new heaven and new earth, it is evident that suffering and sin did not come from God. Jesus' answer broke up the law of cause-and-effect, and interpreted the issue of sin and suffering from another perspective.

It would indeed be convenient to use cause-and-effect to explain the Sichuan disaster, for example. Buddhism would explain it by 'the three lives of rebirth', i.e. the present life is explained by the evil done in the past life. It is said that 'What you receive in this life will tell you what you did in the previous life; and what you do in this life will tell you what you will receive in the life to come'. The law of cause-and-effect certainly comforts and helps people face adversities. Jesus, however, did not use it but pointed out that pain and suffering has its own randomness. God never uses the evil of suffering as a tool to show His loving-kindness, because suffering conflicts with the nature of God.

Like some traffic accidents, natural disasters occur in a state of uncertainty where there isn't a choice or a purpose and they just happen. If the natural disaster happens in an uninhabited place, no suffering would be caused. The problem is: is it reasonable for men to choose to live in an earthquake zone and then insist on God stopping occurrences of nature? The driver is responsible in a motor accident, but the innocent pedestrian suffers without any purpose or choice, it just happens to him and not because he is 'unspiritual' or God is 'teaching him a lesson', nor is it a punishment for him being immoral. Indeed, many accident victims are innocent people and there is no personal reason for the injury or death.

When suffering becomes a fact, how are we to face it? If we can overcome suffering by the grace of the Lord thereby enhancing the state of our lives, then although the suffering remains, our lives are being exercised and we can even help others who have needs. Thus, it was not that God needed the man to be born blind in order to display God's might, but rather God was helping him to transform suffering. There might be different sufferings, but God never leaves us. God wants us to be freed from the bondage of suffering; He wants to go through the experience with us.

One of the worst pains is probably being misunderstood, and the Book of Job talks about this. His three friends doubted that a righteous person could come to suffering and they concluded that Job's suffering was no doubt a result of him sinning, because the God of righteousness would not make people suffer for no reason. This spiritual law stabbed Job like a sharp knife and nobody could understand his hurt and pain.

The LORD did not directly explain the reason for the suffering but rather asked Job many questions and took him on a tour of the stars and the nature, asking him to look at the wonderful creatures of land and sea. In the end Job said, "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You". What actually had God revealed to Job?

Because sufferings occur in a state of disorder, men naturally are very fearful of disasters. Since when the land was cursed, suffering in disorder happens to you and me with neither purpose nor choice. Many sufferers cry, 'Heaven is not watching!' and that is disorder. If Heaven was watching, then everything would be in order, and there would be a reason for the suffering. There was no reason for Job's suffering – and so even Job cursed the day on which he was born; Job was in a crisis of faith: Why? Therefore the problem that God needed to solve for Job was not about the magnitude of his suffering but the disorder within him. God wanted the suffering Job to understand about the world's order, to know with certainty that God was still in control of the nature; God allowed disorders, but they could not negate His might and lovingkindness, He was still enthroned as King and the world’s disorders were merely transient.

Lastly, we read Luke 13:1-5. Pilate took the Temple money to build the Pool of Siloam. The Jews regarded the Temple money as sacred and that Pilate had no right to use it. Therefore some Galileans caused a riot during the Feast's time of sacrifice. However, the plan was leaked and Pilate executed them on the spot. Jesus did not discuss the matter but merely said, "But unless you repent, you too will all perish". What did He mean by that?

Jesus then carried on pointing out that some time ago a tower was being built near the Pool of Siloam and its collapse killed eighteen people. The 'repentance' that Jesus mentioned was not a repentance from sin, but a change of thinking. Jesus was saying that, be it a natural disaster or a man-made catastrophe, if we do not change the way we think about tragedies and continue to use cause-and-effect to explain them, making other people's death irrelevant to us, then sooner or later we too will perish. Jesus showed us a higher level: the death of the Galileans involved complex issues such as politics and culture, and could not be dealt with straightforwardly.

We must change our thinking. When a disaster occurs, such as a traffic accident, we can make improvements such as installing extra traffic lights and prohibiting drunk driving, so that accidents may be reduced and history will not repeat. After the Sichuan earthquake, apart from actively carrying out relief work with compassion, we can also take preventive measures in China’s other possible earthquake zones, seek out and deal with any human errors, otherwise one day we too will perish.