Suffering with Year 9 (and why we love it)

Suffering is not an easy thing to talk about. Yet of the many topics that Step teaches in schools, the topic of suffering leads to some of the best conversations with students.

The problem of suffering is actually a great starting point for a conversation between people of faith and no faith. It’s a tough subject for everyone, whether we believe in God or not - so we begin our lessons on suffering on some common ground with every young person in the room. It’s a nice way to start, even if it’s a difficult reality that unites us.

And once that idea of ’Christians versus non-Christians’ has been dismantled, the brilliant questions can start flowing. That’s exactly what happened at Beaumont this week with Year 9, who wanted to know more about this God who is all-loving, all-powerful and all-knowing, yet created a world that experiences suffering.

For example, “Why did God even risk giving us free will if He knew how much suffering it would lead to?” they asked.

“Why didn’t He make it impossible for humans to sin, so that they’d have to follow and love Him?”

“Why would God give up His godliness to become human and suffer too?”

I haven’t quite worked out why the Suffering lesson always brings us to conversations about who God is. But I love the way an apparently hopeless topic becomes an opportunity to speak to young people about the light that shines even in the darkest of places.