Genesis 1:1-5
In the Beginning
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
John 1:1-5
In the Beginning
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
1 John 4:19-21
God Loved Us First
19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
For many years I thought there was a very strong and powerful linkage between faith and suffering...When we are in trouble, we seem to draw closer to God...As I read through the Psalms, the Psalmist seemed to connect faith and suffering, as the author cries out to God and for His help and assistance...And as I read Jesus' Great Sermons, the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon on the Plain, I saw this connection, between faith and suffering...As I read about the cross and Jesus had to suffer for our sins, yet I see faith and belief...This all seems like a connection God has made, because these things are documented in the Bible....And when I read about tragedies, I often think of faith... Then when the terrible day of the attacks of September 11th happened and the days, and weeks and months passed, I saw great suffering, but I also saw great faith...
Now after many years of reading the Bible, for me, I still see a connection of faith and suffering...But now I see some stronger connections other than faith and suffering...I see a stronger connection in faith and hope...And hope is the anchor to our souls...Jesus gives me this very hope...
I see an even much more overarching connection than faith and suffering...I see the most powerful connection between faith and love...This is because, God is love...Since the beginning of time, God and Jesus have been with us...It would be natural now to believe that since God is Love, the strongest and most natural Godly and holy connection to one's faith is love...
So while we do see believers able to work and get through the problems of injustice, and the problems of suffering, pain, and evil...God created the world...God did not create suffering, we did...The beginning of suffering did not start "in the beginning"...Suffering started with man...St. John teaches us that we know love because God loved us first...God, Jesus, and Love have been with us from the beginning...Only later did mankind start suffering...