Whenever you hear about people going through a challenge, be it physical, emotional, or monetary, the $64,000 Question (as it was once called) is "Why must people suffer?" It is the toughest question of mankind's existence because it touches into the deepest part of who we are, affecting our faith and certainly our worldview. This is the principal question of the Book of Job. It is asked throughout, but is never really answered. Yes, the writer asks the question, but in truth, does little to actually answer it. Throughout the book we see Job going through pain and trials, none of his own doing by the way, and we are as baffled by the question of WHY as are his four friends. This is our opening salvo of what many believe is the first book written (probably around 300-400 years before Moses was even born). It is a profound, beautiful, intensely powerful story that plays out like a play in four acts -- all centered about this one tough question, "Why do people suffer?" |
