Because we want to avoid that pain, I wonder if that’s part of the reason God allows pain in our lives. We intensely miss family members who are no longer with us. We dread the passing of the ones we know are getting older and more frail. But a person usually lives 70+ years . . . until their warranty expires, as one septuagenarian quipped. But it’s the death of our pets (horses, cats, dogs, fish, chickens, bearded dragons) that hits us almost unexpectedly. When we take home a puppy, we don’t think about how quickly the next 10 - 15 years is going to fly by; we don’t want to consider how soon we’ll be dealing with the end stages of the life of a pet who shared so much joy and companionship with us.
But God allows it for our good. How do I know this? Consider the Passover lamb. It was chosen from the flock on the tenth day of the first month (Exodus 12:3). Once chosen, Ron Dart once opined that it was probably adopted into the family for the next 3-4 days - until the beginning of the 14th day of the month. Then they killed the lamb.
That lamb that they’d had their heart softened towards, developed a bond with, had a relationship with (if you will) would die at their hand - and not because of anything the lamb had done wrong. It was so that the blood would prevent the death of the firstborn - at least in the original Old Testament passover. Subsequent years, the lamb was killed as a reminder of being saved from the Death Angel. Regardless, the death of the Passover lamb pointed to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for each one of us.
We can’t bring Jesus into our homes as if He were a lamb. But in these days leading up to the Passover, we should be spending more time considering all of the symbolism - allowing our hearts to be softened towards Jesus and the work He is doing in our lives; developing and deepening the bond that we have with our Messiah; strengthening that relationship. Jesus died for us - not because He’d done anything wrong. He was innocent! But He died that our sins might be forgiven, that we might be reconciled to the Father, and have the assurance of Eternal Life.
We know this. We talk about it. But do we truly know it enough, deeply in our hearts, to the point that it changes how we live our lives? Put in other words, does the suffering and death of Jesus Christ impact us enough that sin becomes anathema to us?! Do we strive with everything we are to make Godly choices, to avoid transgressing God’s law, and to show by these actions that we value deeply what Jesus did for us?
We can’t just let the Passover come and go each year as a theoretical, theological construct! It has to move us deeply. It has to resonate enough to create a change - a change in our heart and mind and lives, where we focus our attention and goals and desires.
Our family is suffering the death of our 15 year-old black lab. How I hate death! I long for the day when the last enemy, death, is thrown into the Lake of Fire! But I can’t help thinking that it’s no coincidence that she was nearing the end (and died) just as we are approaching Passover. And I am impressed again with the fact that Jesus’ death needs to be more painful to me than Velvet’s death is. He’s my Savior! I daren’t become so complacent (because I face it every year) that I fail to recognize its importance and pertinence and value.
So why does God allow suffering and death? I believe there are several answers to that. The short answer is that death is a consequence of sin. But God can use something bad for our good, even as Jesus learned obedience through the things that He suffered.
And, it’s all part of the examination process that we must go through prior to taking the bread and the wine each year. We must recognize the enormity anew each year of what Jesus has done on our behalf. We must apprehend its significance to our lives and allow God to change us more and more into the image of Jesus Christ because of that understanding.
I hate death. I don’t eagerly embrace pain and suffering. But I am humbly grateful for the redemption Jesus achieved for me because of His suffering and death. It’s a good, if sobering, place to be as we go into the spring holy days . . because we observe Passover to proclaim the Lord’s death ’til He comes.