If God is a loving God, why does he allow pain and suffering?
If God is a loving God, why does he allow pain and suffering? Why does God allow evil?
If you push a button on one of those talking barbie dolls and it says “I love you” how meaningful is that? If love or goodness is something programmed into you, something you have no choice about, is it really love? Real love must involve a choice.
God gave people free choice because that’s the only way they could experience love.
God did create the potential for evil to enter the world, because that was the only way to create the potential for authentic love.
When you start a new relationship- whether its a friendship or a relationship that might possibly lead to falling in love- can you foresee the possibility that the other person may sometime dissappoint you or hurt you or even walk away completely? Of course. But its worth the risk. Love will more than make up for the risk of getting hurt that it takes to get there. Same goes for God. He knew we’d rebel against him, but he also knew many people would choose to follow him. It must be worth it to him, because He not only created us with free choice, but He even created the way to bring us back to him after we rebel- through the suffering of his SON Jesus.
God is wise enough to foresee that we need some pain for reasons which we may not understand but which he foresees as being necessary to some eventual good. Therefore He’s not being evil by allowing that pain to exist.
“We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope”. Romans 5:3
Read Hebrews 12: 10-11
Christ hung on the cross- forsaken by his friends and seemingly by God, bleeding to death and crying “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” The result was that heaven was opened to human beings! The very worst thing that has ever happened in the history of the world ended up resulting in the very best thing that ever happened in the history of the world.
God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.
God promises that when he puts an end to suffering, the rewards for those who love him will more than make up for what they suffered.(I received this in an email today from my amazing best friend Tyler. He spent some time researching/reading today and this is so much of what I needed to hear, so hopefully y’all will get something out of it as well.)
