If God is love, why do people suffer?
When considering this sensitive topic, we must come to grips with the truth that God is not the cause of evil. The devil is the source of the present evil in this world. Consider what the Bible says:
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” 1 Peter 5:8.
“He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this….’” Matthew 13:28
Perhaps the five words above say it all when it comes to the bad things that happen to people— “…An enemy has done this….” The devil is ultimate source for all the bad, all the horror, all the pain, all the sadness, all the sorrow, all the despair, and all the death. He is the one to blame.
However, while God is not to blame, He created the devil and us, and He created us with freedom to choose. And this is where we find the origin of evil. God must honor that freedom and allow our bad choices, or we would not be truly free. This means that God allowed Lucifer to rebel in Heaven without destroying him. Had God killed Lucifer as soon as he rebelled, the rest of Heaven would been filled with a fear of God as a powerful Dictator to be obeyed, or else! It would not have been clear that sin is the source of death, evil, and suffering. And freedom would have been a farce. So God had to allow for the outworking of the Great Controversy between good and evil. To remedy our sin choice and its terrible consequences, God humbled Himself and become a man, taking our nature and the penalty of our sin, revealing the ultimate consequence of Lucifer’s rebellion:
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5–11
This revelation of God’s great love—humbling Himself to save us from sin’s punishment power, and presence, when seen by all in contrast with rebellion, sin, and all the suffering it has brought to God’s Universe—vindicates God’s Name and character:
In the beginning, God warned our first parents about sin and its consequences:
“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:17
Notice how God doesn’t tell Adam and Eve that the day they eat of the tree, He will “kill them.” He simply communicates the inevitable consequence of choosing to sin—which is death (Romans 6:23). By our choice to listen to Satan and disobey God, we brought the negative consequences of sin and suffering upon ourselves.
If God saved all of us from the consequences of sin that we have chosen, then there would be no awareness on our part of the evil in this world, or the seriousness of sin. In fact, God would not be love (1 John 4:8) if He always forcefully kept us from evil. True love requires freedom, and freedom involves risk.
Although God doesn’t cause suffering, He overrules evil for good. Just look at these verses:
“But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.” Genesis 50:20
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28
In Christ we know that God has experienced the most pain and suffering of all:
“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.” 1 Peter 3:18
“For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.” 2 Corinthians 1:5
Pain and suffering exist to give us an indication that something is wrong and that sin is present. Without pain and suffering, we wouldn’t have a healthy awareness of sin—the ultimate problem in our world!
There’s a true story of a young girl who was born with a rare autoimmune disease of the nervous system called CIPA (Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis). This disease prevents a person from feeling pain, and their sweat glands don’t work. Many people would say that this would be a blessing, but that is not how the mother of this young girl felt. She appeared on a talk show one day to discuss the challenges of raising a child with this rare condition. She said that because of the problems this condition has created in her daughter’s life, and for what this malady brings into her body, she prays the same prayer every night: “God, please help my daughter feel pain.”
What parent in their right mind would pray such a thing? Only someone who understands the greater risk of not being able to experience pain! That young girl could step on a nail and have a deadly infection set in that no one would know about until it was too late. She could put her hand on a burner and hurt herself tremendously without even knowing it. She could be walking through the woods and be bitten by a deadly snake without knowing that something was wrong until it was too late.
Perhaps God knows a little something about this life! With all His infinite wisdom, is it possible that God allows pain to help us know when something is wrong? While He does not like to see us suffer, He knows that pain and suffering awaken us to the reality of the much greater problem of sin.
However, there’s good news! Pain and suffering will not last forever!
“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:4