I have only my eyes with which to see the world; let us begin there. In my life, then, when I look back, I see how much the suffering I have undergone. I know others have suffered more — just bear with me. I also believe in God, who is all good. The problem with that has traditionally been the problem of suffering: how can a good God allow so much pain to exist in the world, much of it quite undeserved? But I look upon my life, and I remember the man I was before my greatest trials, and the man I am now, after; and I understand how much the better I am for having suffered, for having paid my dues. I did not understand at the time, of course — perhaps only saints can see within their time of pain how it makes sense. But now, I comprehend. And it makes me think that there might be reasons for it all, reasons why all the pain in the world exists, but that being trapped in our temporal bubbles, we just cannot see why, sometimes. A lot of times. But we just may.
This is not to say to cause pain on others, justifying ourselves that it will make sense for them, that it is part of God's will. That's not what our man Jesus ever told us to do, nor did He ever cause any harm to anyone himself. Look, too, at His example: being a Christian, I believe that He never did one thing wrong in His entire life, yet, He was tortured and killed, nonetheless. It seems to make no sense: He says it Himself, that it is His Father's will: it is God's own will that an innocent man be made to suffer and die. But being a Christian, I understand that it is in this way that He saves the world. And He does it the most noble way that one can, sacrificing His life, and not turning away from God's will, even in the face of torture. He does not overcome evil by overpowering the darker forces of the world: that is not good winning over evil, but power over power. He wins by love, giving all that He can give, surrendering the whole of Himself to the higher. He is showing us how.
I think my point is that the problem of suffering is not insurmountable. My reason tells me that an all-powerful, all-good God does not necessarily contradict the existence of suffering in the world. I think some people who cannot see why may sometimes not be looking in the right direction. Perhaps they don't want to. But I cannot, there, really fault them for it. They see what they see, for their eyes are all they have to see with the world. But these that I have are my eyes, and this is how I see.
