The Sovereignty of God in Suffering

I've heard that children will usually be the ones to ask the most profound questions of anyone. Last Thursday this was confirmed when, on the way home from a prayer meeting for missions, my seven year-old (Elizabeth) said to me, "Daddy, can I ask you a question?" "Sure!" I replied. She then proceeded to ask about the origin of evil and suffering and God's role in it (in her own 7 year-old words, of course - but this was the core of her question).
Wow. That's a tough one. There are people who have pondered this question for entire academic careers and not come up with an answer. There are also those who have come to conclusions...many conclusions. I let her know as much and also told her that it is a subject I have been thinking about a lot lately and that I would give her the best answer that I have been able to come up with so far.
I explained that, first of all, God is good and God is all-powerful; so, in order for there to be evil and suffering, God has to allow it. So, God must have a good reason to allow evil and suffering even though we may not understand that reason now. We need to realize that God does all things in such a way that He would receive the most glory. God is loving, yes. But God is also just and how would we know this about Him if there were not injustice for Him to make right? God is mercy but we would never know this if there were no offenders to show mercy to. God is patient but we would never know the extent of His patience were it not for Him allowing us such a long leash in our rebellion and disobedience and stubbornness. Therefore, in order for God to be truly glorified in all His attributes and perfections He had to allow certain things, including evil and suffering. Now, because of this, we can know our God more fully and appreciate how wonderful and marvelous He is. I realize this is just a brief answer and is pretty simplistic, but what are you going to say when a 7 year-old asks about the problem of evil?
Dr. Al Mohler has commented on this subject in relation to Hurricane Katrina on his blog. (By the way, I love the hymn he mentions. Read the words carefully.)

New Covenant Theology

I've been giving some thought to this topic over the last year or so. Many of you reading this blog may not have any clue as to what New Covenant Theology is about. New Covenant Theology (NCT) is an alternative theological system over against Covenant Theology and Dispensationalism. One of the differences with NCT is that, rather than setting your theology from the Old Testament and reading that theology into the New Testament, NCT reads the theology of the New into the Old. Basically, NCT interprets the Old Testament through the lens of Jesus (as shown in the Gospels) and the apostles. The primary work that outlines this theological system is New Covenant Theology by Fred Wells and Frank Zaspel. Another that I have read is Abraham's Four Seeds by Reisinger. I will address this system in more detail in future posts.