Booger McLovin

Suffering and death began when sin entered the world. As it is written, “Through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all mankind” (Romans 5:12). God gave both angels and man free will, knowing some would choose rebellion. The first to fall were angels who turned from Him, and later man made the same choice.

God’s greatest command is clear: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Love must be chosen, not forced. When man rejected God, the world itself was broken. “The creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope” (Romans 8:20). Nature, once only a blessing, now carries the marks of that fall such as disease, disasters, and decay.

Yet even in hardship, there is purpose. “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Romans 5:3–4, ESV). These trials push us to protect life, to care for others, and to seek what is good. God has promised, “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). If you seek Him, you will find He is ready to restore what sin has broken.

Jesus: The Answer to Suffering and Death

From the moment sin entered the world, God promised a Redeemer. In the Garden, He spoke of the offspring of the woman who would crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15). The prophets foretold one who would bear our griefs and carry our sorrows, who would be pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities, and by whose wounds we would be healed (Isaiah 53:4–5).

Jesus fulfilled these promises. He entered our suffering, taking on flesh to live among us, and faced every temptation without sin. On the cross, He bore the full weight of sin and its curse, including suffering and death itself, so that all who believe in Him might have eternal life (John 3:16). His resurrection was the decisive victory over death, fulfilling the Scripture, “He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces” (Isaiah 25:8).

In Christ, suffering is no longer the end but a road to glory. Death is no longer final but a doorway to life with God. He does not promise a life free from hardship now, but He promises His presence in every trial and the hope of a world made new, where “there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain” (Revelation 21:4).