Let’s begin with the whole reason any of this creation is here. Simply put, God wanted to reveal Himself and enjoy a relationship with those who accept that revelation.

In order to reveal Himself God would need three things:
A stage to reveal on – that’s creation.
Someone to reveal to – that’s people.
The conditions needed to make revelation possible – a world of contrast.

So God creates everything. And He creates it all so that it can experience the vast range of contrasts: from love to hate, hot to cold, war to peace, good to evil…

If God had created a perfect world, then He really could not reveal Himself. He would say something like, “Hey people, I am loving”. And we would respond, “Yeah, us to”. Then He wouldn’t be able to say, “But I am more loving”. If we were in a perfect world then there could be no “more than” – perfect doesn’t come in degree. So God really couldn’t reveal Himself. He would need contrasts for that. So love can only really be appreciated against the backdrop of hate. Light can only be understood against the backdrop of dark and so forth. So to the degree that God wanted to reveal to us His greatness, then to that degree He would need its opposite.

This is why there is such suffering in the world. You are right, God could stop all the pain now if He wanted to. Since He doesn’t, we must conclude that He is either evil (and we don’t think that) or He has a purpose for evil and suffering. One of those purposes seems to be that God uses suffering to draw us to Himself in a deep relationship so that He can reveal Himself to us. God is all about relationships. Without this world of contrast there could be little revelation and only shallow relationships.

And God doesn’t exempt Himself from the pain!

It is not a world of pain for us and luxury for Him. He came and suffered with us.
   
Check out His life experiences:
Jesus was born a human. He was not less man because He was also God. He was 100% God and 100% Man. We know. Its impossible sounding…the kind of thing it would take a God to pull off.

And as a man He bled and felt pain and emotion just like you. The nerve endings in His body worked just like yours. If He touched the stove it burned Him just like you. When people hated Him it wounded Him just like you.

So he comes to earth, born of a virgin who was pregnant before marriage. Even her fiancé` Joseph thought about leaving her. Imagine how other people talked about Jesus’ mama.
Then Jesus…

Is born in a stable because the Hotel was full and chivalry dead.

Had to start life on the run from King Herod who wanted to kill Him.

Was born to an apparently poor family since Mary gave the kind of sacrifice that poor people were allowed to give.

Something happened to His father Joseph somewhere along the way. He probably died.  Joseph is never mentioned again after he is twelve. That had to hurt.

After Jesus began His public ministry at 30 years old He told his disciples, “I don’t even have a place to lay my head at night”. He knew homelessness.

Even Jesus’ family didn’t believe in Him for the first period of His ministry. They thought He had some mental problems.

Jesus knew the pain of rejection. After teaching one day, many of His followers abandoned Him. He even turned to His twelve and asked them, “Are you leaving Me also”? John 6:67

He even suffered aggravation and “I can’t believe you don’t get it”. He said to one group, “How long will I put up with you”? He also said, “How is it that you have no faith”?

He dealt with betrayal. One of the twelve men He chose, Judas, actually sold Him to His enemies for thirty pieces of silver. And even worse, Peter, the man He was closest to on earth, swore and cursed in Jesus’ presence that He didn’t even know Him. All of His disciples abandoned Him.

Then there was that fateful day when after being beaten all night and scourged and spit on, they made Jesus carry His own cross to a hill where they NAILED Him to it. They completed the torture with a crown of thorns, nakedness, derision, and even a sign that declared Him the “King of the Jews”.

He died.

Then the God part really kicked in…
        He rose from the dead.

That’s what the Bible says. 3 days dead. Now that’s not passing out and coming to! That’s a miracle. That’s God stuff.

And the best part…
            He came out of that grave looking for you!

He likes you and loves you.

He said things like…
“There is a killer out there, but I came to give you real life.” John 10:10
“I am the way, the truth, and the life, you can only get to God through me.” John 14:6
“And this is eternal life – that they know God the Father and Jesus whom He sent.” John 17:3

And the coolest part is that you can know Him. You can develop a real relationship with Jesus.