Highlight: Does pain have a purpose?

We’ve all been there. We enter a valley of where we doubt our faith. We might even doubt if God really is who He says He is.

Apologist Alex McFarland says that one of the most common things that can spark doubt in our lives is the presence of pain and suffering.

“On the emotional side of things. It has to be pain and suffering. Some of the greatest Christian leaders have had tragedy befall them.”

Alex illustrates his point by citing the story of a man named Dr. Gary Habermas, the most well-known expert in the study of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

“He’s a world-class scholar and one of the kindest, dearest, people in the world and yet his wife Debbie came down with stomach cancer and died at a very young age. Here’s a guy who’s given his entire life to defending Jesus and his spouse dies of cancer.”

We often believe the lie that the Christian life is devoid of pain and suffering. However, even the most devoted followers of Jesus Christ are not immune.

“Christianity is not the subtraction of all your problems, but the addition of God’s presence and sustenance through the times of trouble. Christianity is the one world view that really gives purpose to suffering. We are not promised a pain free life, but what we are promised if we’re willing to entrust our present and our future to the Lord, is that He will teach us things about his faithfulness we never otherwise could have known. He will uphold us and then for this journey we’ll be rewarded in heaven.”

Don’t other worldviews offer this same hope?

“One of the things that makes Christianity unique is that it is the only world view that in an existentially satisfying and fulfilling way can inspire hope and give actual purpose and ultimate benefit to the struggles of life.”


Alex McFarland is a speaker, writer and advocate for Christian apologetics. He serves as director of the Center for Christian Worldview and Apologetics at North Greenville University, a leading Christian college in the United States.

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