Understanding Suffering: A Tale of Three Trees

-Shannon Cramer

“Why would a good God allow bad things to happen?” This is the question I wrestled with when I developed three debilitating conditions in my early twenties. It is a question I’ve heard voiced by people who have lost loved ones, marriages, and dreams. It is the heartrending cry of those who survive unforeseen disasters and violent acts. Human experiences with suffering are very different. But when the unthinkable happens, each of us wonders, “God, you have infinite power at your disposal. Don’t you want to spare your people pain?”

The Bible assures us that he does—because God planted three trees.

The First Tree:

God’s initial vision for the world protected us from suffering. He created the earth to be an ideal home for his children. He placed Adam and Eve in a garden paradise where all their needs were met. Their work was meaningful. Their souls were satisfied in God’s presence. Fear and hardship didn’t exist. Like all caring parents, God wanted to bless his sons and daughters with every good thing life has to offer.

Yet in this Eden, God planted the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He commanded Adam:

You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die. –Genesis 2:15-17 NIV

Why would God plant such a tree? If he cares about human welfare, why did he create an opportunity for suffering to enter the world? To answer these questions, we must ask ourselves another: Is it possible to truly live and love without free will?

The very best parents give their children freedom of choice as they grow. Living in blissful ignorance of evil, it may seem like Adam and Eve didn’t have choices. But by planting the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden, God gave them the best-case scenario of free will. Adam and Eve could have protection from hardship, live in a vibrant relationship with God, and know that they loved him of their own accord. It was ultimately up to them to look at all the evidence of God’s goodness and decide whether to obey his rule about the tree. God’s choice for Adam and Eve was, “Will you trust me?”

Unfortunately, the forbidden fruit was eaten. Innocence was lost. Suffering entered the world as people became vulnerable to evil and the consequences of sin.

The Second Tree:

God took out his spade and planted another tree. Good and evil face off for a second time as Jesus is nailed to the rough wooden timbers of the cross. In an unparalleled act of love, God’s perfect son becomes human, willingly sacrifices himself to take the punishment for our sins, descends into hell, and rises from the dead to restore us to the right relationship with God.

He bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds, you have been healed. –1

Peter 2:24 ESV

Once again Jesus lays the proof of God’s love before us and asks, “Will you trust me?”

The Third Tree:

For everyone who responds “yes,” a third tree awaits so that when your time on earth is finished, you may live eternally with God. The leaves of this tree will heal nations. Where it grows the curse is undone. As you eat this tree’s fruit, you will flourish in God’s presence, for “He will wipe every tear from [your] eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things [will be] gone forever (Revelation 21:4).” The third tree is the tree of life.

To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. –Revelation 2:7 NIV

The Testimony of the Trees:

Whatever you mourn today, these three trees are evidence that God has always been fighting for you. Timothy Keller got it right when he tweeted, “Everything sad is going to come untrue and it will somehow be greater for having once been broken and lost.” When I grieve how much I suffer compared to healthy young adults, I am comforted by what the three trees teach me about God’s character:

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil reassures me that it was God’s preference to spare his children’s pain. Our Heavenly Father introduced one crucial choice that gave the first human beings the ability to have free will in paradise. But with no point of comparison, Adam and Eve were easily convinced to doubt.

The cross reveals God’s heart—he heard his children cry and came running. God (in the form of Jesus) carried our burdens because he would rather suffer in our stead.

The tree of life proclaims God’s goodness and genius. He has restored his people to paradise! Our homecoming will be all the sweeter for vague memories of suffering because in Eden 2.0, discontentment will be unable to tempt our hearts. We will finally unquestionably trust him.

What a butterfly taught me about