The atheist asked me, "If your god is so good and almighty, if he loves us, why would he make people on earth suffer?"
Hmm... Tough question. What am I to answer him?
First, my atheist friend, isn't the whole world suffering? Whoever's god we are talking about, aren't we all still suffering? Hmm.. By your logic, I guess all other gods in the world don't love us too. None of the gods seems to care about us, don't you think so? Not a single one of them. Well, that's explain it. That's why you are an atheist.
My dear atheist friend, let me ask you this now. Your question just summarised the concept as shown below.
"If your god is so good and almighty, if he loves us, why would he make people on earth suffer?"
GOODNESS + POWER + LOVE = NO SUFFERING
When I was still a very young kid, my mum has always been there to take care of me. She is good to people around her. She is always genuinely concerned with people around her. That easily satisfy your criteria of being good. She has the power to discipline me too. She dictates my schedule. When I have my meals, what time I go to the school and when I play too much computer games, she has the power to discipline me. Seems like she satisfy the criteria of possessing certain amount of power too. Does my mum love me? Definitely! No doubt about that. She loves me to the bottom of her heart.
My mum satisfy the following:
GOODNESS + POWER + LOVE
But that didn't prevent me from suffering once or twice in my life. There were times when my mum asked me not to play in the rain. I chose not to listen to her. I ended up contracting a bad cold and that was suffering. There were times where she asked me not to over eat in buffet lunches. I did not listen to her and I end up having a very bad stomach ache and vomitting for the rest of the day. That definitely was a form of suffering.
GOODNESS + POWER + LOVE = NO SUFFERING????????
My friend, the problem lies with you. Yes you. Why do you expect to not suffer just because God is good? Why do expect God to deliver you from your suffering just because He has the power to do so? Why do you expect God to take away your suffering just because He loves you? WHO ARE YOU MY FRIEND? Who are you to demand all these from someone you've just described as good, almighty and loves you? Yes friend, you are the selfish one who expects things to happen. Your mind expects things to follow a pattern you so think should be the case. You think you understand what you said. You think a lot my friend, but you don't understand.
If you truly believe in what you've just said my atheist friend, then promise me one thing. When you have a kid next time, don't ever let him or her suffer. You know what will happen if your child suffer? It means, you are not good to your child. You are useless because you don't have the power to control your child so that he or she will not suffer. You definitely do not love your child at all because she suffered! You are a lousy father my friend.
My dear atheist friend, I don't think that is possible right? I am sure you will love your child and you would want to give the best for him or her. But to let your child not suffer?
Also my dear atheist friend. If you know that people around are suffering my friend, what have you done to help them? You ask God where is the solution to the suffering in the world. I see you my friend. I see your willing and kind heart as the answer to your own question. God empowered you and I with perfect health and wealth. How much have you contributed that to ending someone else's suffering. You may not be the solution to suffering, but are you even part of it?
My dear atheist friend, with so much being said, I hope you don't just think, understand what you are saying. I want to tell you my friend, even with you unjustifying so much about God, He has not forgotten you. He wants to justify you. You ask Him where is the solution to your suffering. I tell you the truth, the solution is Him. You thought you could catch God with His words by asking Him where he is when you see so much suffering. But He actually bothered about you my friend. He actually died just to give an answer to your solution. He didn't die to free you from your sufferings on earth. He died to free you from your sufferings for eternity. Do you believe that? All you have to do is just to believe that He has done it for you.
But would you believe what I just said? Would you believe me my friend? Or would you think that I am just some lost fellow following a blind faith? Whatever the case my friend, don't just think, understand.
God is always there for me and you. Were we always there for Him?