If God loves us, then why does He allow us to go through suffering?
This question has been a subject of debate for many theological and philosophical scholars. The question arose due to the paradox that despite God’s omnipotence and omniscience as well as His unconditional love; He cannot stop suffering or He allows it (allegedly) to happen.
Some philosophical atheists will argue that the presence of suffering in the world is one of the signs that God doesn’t exist. Since God cannot stop suffering or allows suffering to happen, atheists argue that God is not ‘all-powerful.’
However, the counterargument for this is that suffering is a product of human free will and not God. God’s trait as being all-powerful does not come from his brute strength, but it stems from God’s own nature as the ‘most powerful’ being, his innate nature of being powerful. The concept of brute strength as power is a human understanding. God’s understanding of power is beyond human comprehension.
Still, the question remains: an all powerful God who looks at us with love would use His power to end all suffering - so why doesn’t He? In trying to answer this question, we only have our limited human mind to provide the answer. But we assume it to be God’s answer - just as how when some people say that suffering happens as a punishment. We try to explain how God’s mind works, but yet we only fail to because we are human. So when we answer this question, we have to understand that there is a limit to how much we can understand and that limit is the reason why not everyone will be satisfied to all the answers we tend to come up with.
Yet again, with God’s power that is beyond human comprehension, He gave us free will. However, He is not fully responsible as to why suffering exists because of human free will. But scholars will argue that since God gave us free will, He should also be responsible. In contrast, God as some scholars will say, is just a ‘watcher’ above who observes human’s actions and already has the ‘foreknowledge’ of the consequences of those actions.
He will let actions persist because a God who interferes is against His ‘nature’ (All good, all knowing and all powerful) as God. Another argument is that God already created this world as the ‘best possible’ world among the other worlds He created. Following this line of thought, the suffering in this world pales in comparison the “other” worlds God created. Human free will is our responsibility then not God’s and is the root of suffering in this world. Even though human free will is a gift from God, it is still a ‘gift’. It has to be nurtured and be used wisely since it was given to us.
Another philosophical take on this question which deals with the aspect of suffering and sin is the theological tale about a father and his son, who is diagnosed with Cancer. The father would do anything and everything he could to relieve his son. He would allow his son to go through certain medical procedures in order to cure him - even if he’s well aware that the process of these procedures may put his son under a lot of physical stress. Soon after, the son was cured. However, he had to go through a lot of life changing experiences. But nevertheless, the father was successful in relieving his son from Cancer.
The story is an analogy to our relationship with God. God gave us free will. And with that free will, man abused it which lead to sin. Suffering is also born out of sin - which again, is caused by man. Suffering is not a form of “punishment” by God but rather, it’s the product of the actions of sin. God lets us experience the life changing phenomenon that suffering brings in order for us to understand the tribulation that comes with it when we abuse our own free will. Once we grasp the nature of it, we would then be cured of our ability to abuse this free will by becoming more aware of our actions and decisions in creating a much conducive world that is alleviated of its harsh realities.
My personal take on this question is that suffering is one of the many ways to experience God. Being born and raised into a family of Roman Catholics, my understanding of going through suffering and being loved by God are not mutually exclusive. In fact, when we go through suffering, He doesn’t let us go alone. We feel His presence even more than on a daily mundane basis because we tend to acknowledge the state of His existence by questioning that reality. And it is through that sense of brokenness that we are much capable of letting knowledge and understanding seep into our conscience.
He is with us as we endure the pain. We become one with Him through suffering because He also experienced how it was like to suffer by becoming human. It is difficult to understand the complex nature of God. But it is through the experience that our free will brings that adds meaning to His existence - therefore, bringing us closer to Him.