“Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer and then enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:26, NRSV)

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be yours made careful search and inquiry, inquiring about the person or time that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated when it testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the subsequent glory. (I Peter 1:10-11, NRSV)

It seems that there is a lot of suffering in this world, and not all of it is purifying or redemptive. So much suffering and pain is unnecessary and meaningless. Or so it seems.

I have heard of many people close to me, and close to the heart of our seminary, who are suffering now. This year I have heard of many losses of dear ones and much physical and emotional suffering among close friends and Gordon-Conwell community members.

This week draws us all closer to the heart of the Christian story: the cross. The story begins with humility—Jesus emptying himself in the incarnation—and ends with glory. But in the middle of this divine story is suffering for others.

And that is the key, isn’t it? Suffering for others as opposed to meaningless suffering. I can meditate upon Christ’s suffering as something chosen out of love, something that, by bending down, he will lift up. In accepting his suffering, Jesus brought forth “subsequent glory.” This week it is good to have extra worship services to think more deeply about such love and sacrifice. We need to be more like Jesus in living for others, even to the point of suffering. Our world needs to see Christian humility and self-emptying when otherwise we encounter so much “self-fulfilling” and self-oriented living around us.

Passion week can and should, in small and not-so-small ways, bring some rectification or sanctification to ourselves and our churches.

But there is other suffering going on around us, and that we have experienced, that just seems meaningless. Why do innocent children suffer? Why do “good” people get cancer, and why do “innocent” people die in accidents? Why do young mothers lose their husbands in war and through disease, leaving children fatherless?

These are the questions of the ages, aren’t they? We worship a good, loving, and all-powerful God, and yet what type of a world is it, that is marked by so much suffering? I speak out of experience.

I return at this point to a particular history and a doctrine. History tells us that Jesus’ death seemed meaningless and hopeless.[1] How can such an authentically upright and truly innocent man be intentionally executed, despite having done so much good? Absolutely ludicrous. And yet, God, in his patience, love, and wisdom brought about something more glorious than could ever have been imagined. Is suffering meaningless? Or could it be that every good, as well as terrible, thing in his world can and will be redeemed? Absolutely, or God is not God. By God’s power and grace, all can be redeemed.

In addition, this is the theology upon which we must stand or we will lose all hope and devolve into despair. God is Lord of all. “All” means all of the world, all that is seen and unseen, all the good, and all the sorrow. He takes the pain and sin upon himself to redeem it for his glory. I know this doctrine is true because I have read Revelation, and I, like so many of you, have experienced meaningless and painful suffering. Yet, as with gentle waves from a lapping the lakeshore, I have experienced the slow healing and restoration that can and does come from God in the face of Jesus. Full redemption will come with Jesus’ return, because we have a foretaste of this now. God will wipe away every tear from our eyes.

So, I invite you this Holy Week to meditate on suffering—on that which is redemptive and on that which has not yet been fully redeemed. But at the same time, remember that suffering does not have the last word. The last word is and always will be Glory!

[1] “This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” (Acts 2:23, ESV)

Dr. Scott W. Sunquist, President of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, is author of the “Attentiveness” blog. He welcomes comments, responses, and good ideas.