¶ … Suffering in the Human Relationship with God
Suffering is part of human existence on earth. Christians are no exception to the rule. The problem is that most suffering is experienced by the innocent. When believers suffer, this appears to deny God's love, and it is very difficult to hold on to faith in the face of physical, emotional or spiritual turmoil. In order to understand this phenomenon in the believer's world then, Gustavo Gutierrez examines suffering from the viewpoint of Job. In his book On Job Gutierrez describes in detail the stages that Job goes through in his suffering. Of course Job was the ultimate example of innocent suffering. Despite being completely righteous and faithful, Job suffered because God had confidence in him.
When Job suffers, he initially experiences this as a solitary sufferer. The three friends who talk to him during his suffering enhance this loneliness when they introduce the idea of temporal retribution. Job, according to them, is suffering because he is sinful. His three friends then suggest repentance:
the impoverishment and sickness that Job is suffering are punishments for his sins. Mortals who deny this truth are claiming to be more righteous than God.. Job's first duty, therefore, is to acknowledge his sin and ask God's forgiveness for it." (p. 22).
According to this theological model, sufferers deserve what they get, and to stop the suffering, they should repent from their sins. But both the reader, God and Job know that his suffering is innocent. He has done nothing to deserve the loss of everything. Thus the meaning attached to his suffering by the widely accepted theological doctrine of his friends is the meaning of human error and conversion. Conversion, according to the friends,...
This is however unacceptable to Job and the reader. Gutierrez then further examines Job's search for meaning.
Job, like many suffering and innocent believers in the world, is bewildered. He does not know that his suffering is caused by a wager between Satan and God. He does know however that he has not sinned to deserve the suffering he receives. This is also true for most believers who suffer. The death of a loved one or the loss of a job could be interpreted as signs of the loss of God's love. The suffering individual may feel that the unjust retribution cuts them off from God's blessing.
This is however where Gutierrez addresses the question of freedom. Freedom is experienced on the part of both God and the human being. Human beings are free to choose their path in life. Job is free to choose his reaction to his suffering. He chooses never to blaspheme and never to renounce God, despite repeated pleas from his wife to do so. Instead he uses language to try and contemplate the mysteries of God amidst his suffering.
God is also free. When he finally chooses to speak to Job, it is to proclaim and justify his own freedom. God is free to exercise his control over the universe as he sees fit. He does not have to descend to human understanding in order to justify his actions.
Right at the beginning, God reproached Job for trying to obscure the divine plans... God asserted that such plans do indeed exist, but they do not, as it were, possess or control God; much less, then, is God controlled by those human beings who claim to know God's intentions in detail." (p. 83-84).
It is thus in mutual freedom that Gutierrez suggests that God and the human being meet in an adoration that is free…
