By Sebastian Campbell, For The Guardian

Life can be painful! No one is exempt from pain!

The question of good people suffering is a frustrating one to confront. We believe in a good and loving God — why does he allow suffering?

Shouldn't the world be a loving paradise? All around us we see suffering. School grounds have become battle grounds. Homicide has escalated to unacceptable levels. Our children are guilty of serious crimes, even murder. The drug trade goes unabated. Alcoholism knows no bounds. The divorce rate has blown the lid of acceptability. Sexual favors for advancement is common place. Then there is sickness and the difficult diagnosis of the incurable or debilitating diseases.

The question screams from our souls: Why? Why does God permit such things to happen? Why does God let good people suffer? On the cross Jesus struggled with this human reality. Jesus cried, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

Human suffering is without a doubt, one of life's greatest mysteries. From the beginning of time human beings have pelted heaven with the question, "Why? We suffer because of natural laws.

Jesus says, "The rain falls on the just and the unjust." The natural law of the universe is unbending. They operate the same for all people. Someone accidentally bumps into you while standing on a precipice, the law of gravity is merciless. Even if that person bumped is the archbishop or the most moral person known to you, gravity does not negotiate.

Cause and effect are bound together and much of our suffering comes from running head-on into the dependable laws of the universe. We live in a cause-and-effect world with these natural laws that give order to creation. Laws that make possible medicine, engineering, farming, and learning, scientific advances. Laws that make all human progress possible, and that also bring suffering when violated.

The world is fraught with growing pains. The world is still developing, still unfolding. We live in a world about which we don't know everything, and what we don't know hurts us. We learn by trial and error. Risky relationships

We are relational people.That's how we are made. We are woven together by loyalty, love, mutual need and interdependence into homes, churches, friendships, communities, business, etc.

The fact of "inescapable fellowship" is the source of our greatest joy and our deepest hurt!

Every joy involves risk. If I choose to love you, I am running the risk that you may reject me and break my heart, but love is worth the risk. If you make a friend, you run the risk that your friend will be false to you; but friendship is worth the risk. If you have children, you run the risk that they may cause you heartache and sleepless nights, but they might be worth the risk.

Risky relationships are woven into the fabric of life. The more deeply we love, the more deeply we hurt, regardless of who we are. Yet we don't want to miss out on the joys of love because we are afraid of being hurt. It's worth the risk!

Freedom of choice

God did not make us puppets. God gave us free will. Sometimes we make wrong choices, and bring suffering on ourselves and others. A man decides he can beat the fire engine crossing the red light. He misses by a second, but he misses. The nun in the passenger seat dies on the scene. The driver is extricated with use of the "jaws of life" and is reduced to a "vegetable".

Conclusion

We suffer because we live in a world of dependable natural laws; we live in a world that's wracked with growing pains; we live in a world of risky relationships; and we live in a world that gives us freedom of choice.

In the midst of this reality of suffering in our world, humans can have a sense of divine presence. The Christians are rooted in the sense of God's presence through Jesus Christ, who doesn't speak from an easy chair, but from a cross as one who endured the worst suffering.