How can a loving God allow His children to suffer? It’s a question that many people have wondered about. We can gain some answers by thinking about the purpose of life on earth, the role of Jesus Christ, and our eternal destiny.
Moments of difficulty offer us opportunities to grow and learn. In the book of Isaiah, we read, “Behold, I have refined thee … I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction” (Isaiah 48:10). God wants us to become the best version of ourselves. This can often be painful, but some lessons can only be learned by experience.
When we experience hard times, we learn how to have empathy for others. Having empathy makes us more like Jesus Christ, our perfect example. Because Jesus suffered and died for all of our sins, He perfectly understands what we’re going through and how to help us.
God gives each of His children the ability to choose between right and wrong. Unfortunately, some people choose to do bad things that cause innocent people to suffer. But God has promised that suffering will not last forever. In the New Testament, we read that after this life, “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:4). All that is unfair about life will be made right through Jesus Christ.
