Justice!?: God's love Vs A suffering World

God’s Love vs A suffering world

There are questions that press on the heart so deeply that they become prayers in the shape of sentences: 

If God loves everyone, why do people suffer? Why did He give us freedom that allows evil? Does God really love the homeless, the hungry, the forgotten?

These are honest, holy questions. The answers we can gather from Scripture, from the life and writings of believers who have walked the same paths, and from the quiet witness of God’s presence, do not remove the mystery — but they bring light enough to walk by.

1. A Love That Is Both Universal and Personal

God’s love is wide enough to include all and intimate enough to hold each one. Scripture paints both truths together: “For God so loved the world…” (John 3:16) — an all-embracing love that reaches every human being. Yet Scripture also says, “You knit me together in my mother’s womb; you know my frame” (Psalm 139:13–16). 

God’s love is not a distant affection but a knowing, hands-on love that sees every need, every name, every tear.

Ellen G. White pulls these threads together when she reminds us:

> “God could not make beings who would love Him and obey Him without power of choice. Love is not love unless it is voluntary.”

(Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 68)

God loves the whole world and He loves you in particular. That twofold truth is the foundation on which all other answers stand.

2. Freedom: The Necessary Risk of Real Love

     parable of the lost son

Why did God give humans the power to choose — even to choose evil? Because love that is compelled is not love at all.

 Freedom is the soil in which genuine relationship grows. 

Without choice, obedience would be mechanical; praise would be hollow. God wanted beings who could respond to His goodness freely.

As Scripture frames this reality, God sets before us life and death, blessing and curse, and invites our choice (Deuteronomy 30:19). That invitation carries risk — the risk that the gift of freedom will be misused, leading to pain and brokenness. 

Ellen White states plainly that 

God “permits human beings to follow their own impulses; they are free to choose evil, and thus bring suffering upon themselves and others.” (The Desire of Ages, p. 22)

Freedom makes possible authentic love, moral growth, responsibility, and genuine service — but it also makes possible the misuse of that freedom. 

The possibility of evil is the necessary cost of the possibility of love.

3. Suffering Is Real — But Not Proof of God’s Absence

Suffering does not mean God has turned away. On the contrary, Scripture and faithful witness insist that God is closest to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18). 

He does not always remove suffering immediately, because to do so arbitrarily would undermine the moral realities He created, including freedom and growth. Instead, God walks through suffering with us, often turning trials into teachers that mature character (Romans 5:3–5).

Ellen White helps us see the shaping work of trials:

> “The Lord permits human beings to follow their own impulses… He disciplines and teaches, that through trial and suffering they may develop character and learn dependence upon Him.”

(Education, p. 230)

Suffering can be a consequence of human sin, but it can also become a pathway — by God’s grace — to dependency, compassion, and deeper faith. From a narrow, present perspective, pain often feels senseless; from God’s wider view, He is at work toward restoration and good (Romans 8:28).

4. God’s Heart for the Poor and the Forgotten

When we ask about the homeless, the hungry, and the oppressed, Scripture’s answer is tender and clear: 

God notices, cares, and acts through His people. Jesus taught that God feeds the birds and numbers the hairs of our head (Matthew 6:26; Luke 12:7). He showed preferential love to the poor, and Scripture repeatedly calls God the defender of the widow and the father of the fatherless (Psalm 68:5).

Our faith is not merely to comfort ourselves with divine love; it is to be conduits of that love. 

Isaiah 58 and James 1:27 call the people of God to practical mercy: feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the afflicted. God’s love for the marginalized is real — and He invites us to be part of the answer.

5. The Promise of Ultimate Restoration

Suffering, however intense, is not the final word. Scripture promises a day when God will wipe away every tear and make all things new (Revelation 21:4). The present troubles, as real and painful as they are, are temporary compared to the vastness of God’s eternal plan (Jeremiah 29:11). 

Ellen White echoes this hope: 

> “All the afflictions of the righteous are overruled for good, and are employed to bring them nearer to God.” (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 291)

6. What This Means for Us — A Practical Way Forward

1. Trust that God loves you personally, even when you cannot see the reason for your pain. His presence is nearer than you think.

2. Remember that freedom has costs. Choosing love requires freedom; freedom can be misused. That tragic reality does not negate God’s goodness.

3. Let suffering shape you, not break you. Allow sorrow to lead to compassion, dependence on God, and greater service.

4. Be God’s hands and feet. God often meets the homeless and the hungry through people who act. Our compassion is not only charity — it is sacramental, a visible expression of God’s invisible love.

5. Hold to hope. This life is a chapter, not the whole story. God’s promise of restoration is sure. In the meanwhile, He works with and through us for healing and justice.

Closing Reflection

Imagine a gardener who loves the garden so much that he gives each plant space to grow toward the sun. He does not force the vine to climb in a particular way; he lets it choose, to respond, to reach. Sometimes the vine leans into a thornbush and is wounded. The gardener does not remove all danger — for then there would be no growth or reaching — but he does not abandon the vine. He tends the wound, he trains the vine, and he gives tools to the gardener’s helpers to bind up the hurt places.

So it is with God. He gave us freedom so love could be real. He allows consequence because relationship must be genuine. And he walks into our wounds, binding, teaching, and promising a day when every tear will be wiped away.

Have a blessed time.

GUSDASA

"Sharing Joys, Bearing Burdens, Growing Together"