The Answer

Do you ever feel frustrated without an apparent reason? Like you are burning up inside for something more than just an ordinary existence? Do you feel like nothing in your life could ever make up for the pain that you've experienced? If you have ever been upset at everything without any provocation, then you are in spiritual agony. There are three levels of pain: physical, emotional, and spiritual. The last is the greatest, but it is often treated as if it were the least. Our society is run on a predominantly scientific basis. Physical pain is therefore treated as if it were the greatest level of suffering because it exists and is solved by natural processes that can be systematically studied. Emotional pain is given second priority because its causes can often be found in the physical world, but it cannot be eliminated as easily as physical pain. Spiritual pain is all but ignored. If you feel you are suffering spiritually, then maybe you need to get into nature, go to church every Sunday, try meditation, fall in love,... No concrete answer is offered for the alleviation of spiritual suffering. We are told that truth is relative: Some people adhere to this truth and it makes them happy; others adhere to another truth and are just as happy. Only here's the problem: I have never met a legitimately happy person. And if truth is relative, does it not cease to be true? In our scientific society, atheists like to demote spiritual pain to the emotional or physical level. They try to explain it away with scattered facts so they can deny that such a thing exists. In a world where everyone is trying to hide from the deepest questions of existence, I am ready to face them head on. So what is the cure for spiritual agony?

Sadly, I cannot give the answer right away. Ask a history teacher when George Washington shot vampires in Azkaban, and you will probably not get a very good answer because there is no such thing as vampires and no such place as Azkaban. If you ask when George Washington led the Continental Army against the British, the teacher would answer that he was general from 1775 to 1783. The problem then is not with the teacher's knowledge, but with the question. Before a legitimate answer can be given, you must be sure that the question itself is legitimate. The question asked here assumes two things: first, that a spiritual realm exists; second, that there is a cure for the pain experienced in this realm.


Because I am dealing with people who are used to a science in which the idea of anything beyond random natural processes is scorned, I cannot merely assume my readers agree that there is a spiritual realm. So does God exist? How can you believe in something you cannot factually prove? Well, is there anyone who cares about you? If you were to die today, who would attend your funeral? Think of the person closest to you in the world. Maybe it is a parent, a spouse, a sibling... Now, does this person love you? Can you prove it? You can try, listing off things that he or she said or did for you, but how do you know that person really loves you? How do you know he or she is not merely using you for selfish purposes or that he or she does not do these things out of guilt or fear? Do you know that this person loves you? At this point, I sometimes get the response that "I have a strong feeling this person loves me, but I cannot know for sure." Why don't you try telling your person that? This is the wrong answer. You know deep in your heart, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that this person loves you, but you cannot prove it. For our purposes, there are two ways of knowing things: a fact can be proven; a truth is innate. Both are correct. Just as you can know beyond the shadow of a doubt that your person loves you, I know that God exists. I cannot prove any of this, but judge for yourself if what I say is true. Assuming there is such a thing as spiritual suffering, is there a way to solve it?


What is God? God is love. Literally. Members of a family love each other, even if they do not always act that way. Since God is perfect love, He (I only say "He" for you. People get offended if I try to call God "It". God is neither male nor female.) is also the perfect family. He is mother (Holy Spirit), Father, and Son. The Trinity is often hard for people to understand. How can God be three different persons and still be one God? You also are made up of different connected parts. Your heart, bones, and skin are different from each other, but you are still one person, are you not? Remember this illustration; it will come in handy later. One day, God wondered what it would be like if He made the universe. The Holy Spirit foresaw all the beautiful things that would be -- especially humans -- yearning for it. The Father commanded it to be, and the Son made it happen. Now, it has often been argued that the world could not have been created by perfect love because the world itself is imperfect. When the story of man's fall in the Garden of Eden is used to explain away imperfection, we must ask why God did not make people who would always obey his commands. It is commonly argued that God would not be loving if He simply made "robots" without free will, but humans misuse their free will. I have trouble with this because to assume that God made totally independent people is to assume that God is not actually sovereign. I believe that God programmed the world to be the way it is because He could see the inhabitants of the earth who would result and was overwhelmed with love for them; you would not be the person you are if it were not for your specific life experiences, and God just had to have you. Since God was so overwhelmed with His love for you before the creation of the universe that He was compelled to make it exactly the way it is, it is pretty obvious that he wants to be with you. Unfortunately, perfect love cannot stand anything less than perfect love. Since the fall of man, humans have been less than perfect, so God cannot be with the people He adores. But God is all-powerful, so He is able to save the people He made from a life separated from Him. The only way He could do it was for the Son to come to earth in the form of Jesus of Nazareth for the purpose of suffering in every way. Now the sins of those who want a relationship with God are forgotten. They have been cast upon the ultimate scapegoat. After suffering death on a cross and enduring hell for every sin ever committed for three earth days, Jesus rose from the dead for forty days so those left behind could see that he has absolute power over death. Those who accept his free gift never have to be afraid of anything because the supreme power is on their side.

So what is the cure for spiritual agony? Those experiencing spiritual agony are experiencing it because they are ignoring their life purpose, which is to enter in communion with God. How do you enter in communion with God? You cannot do it through angels, baptisms, cliche prayers, Bible reading, church commitment, good deeds, or the faith of those around you. Once you are aware of what God did for you, His call is irresistible. If you plead for Him to reveal Himself, then He will, but you have to be ready to accept Him. After this, everything else just falls into place.

The cool thing about the cure for spiritual suffering is that it also cures emotional and physical pain. Remember the example of one body with different parts to explain the Trinity? When you accept Christ, you enter into the family of God. You are now one with God. You are now perfect love. When you sin, it is no longer you doing it, but it is your animal nature, which will be destroyed someday. Since God is all-powerful, you can overcome your animal nature and look out for the other members of the human race. As a matter of fact, it is the most natural thing in the world for a person made perfect to do good out of overwhelming love. Now, I do not believe that you must do good to prove to God that you love Him. God is all-knowing; you don't need to prove anything. Now that you are saved, you are saved forever. Your reward in heaven is no greater for anything you do on earth. Still, you will yearn to do good, and if everyone were working to alleviate the physical and emotional pain of the other inhabitants of the earth, these would cease to be overwhelming issues.

This is the answer.