Job, Suffering, and Why We Are Here

"And then I heard you coming . . . so there is the man I love, here he is, here is that man, my dear little brother, whom I love more than anyone in the world, and who is the only one I love . . . Forgive my foolishness--it's only nonsense and in my soul."
--The Brothers Karamazov

I am teaching the book of Job these days. This truly is the book that tackles the hardest questions. And strange to think, when you are reading it, that God specifically inspired it, wanted men throughout history to take on the mystery of suffering. No one is to go through life with an easy, pious naivety.

Last year, reading The Brothers Karamazov, it was difficult to deal with these questions when voiced by Ivan. But then Ivan Karamazov does not have the kind of life or character that really calls forth my sympathy. To hear these questions in the mouth of Job, or even Jeremiah 20 or Christ on the Cross is a different experience altogether.