"Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Revelation 21:3-4)
One of the most cited reasons people say they cannot believe in God is the fact that there is so much pain and suffering in the world. The reasoning you've likely heard; it goes like this - If God could end evil and suffering, but does not, how can he be benevolent? If God cannot end evil and suffering, how could he be sovereign and worthy of worship and praise?
But there is a reasonable answer to this objection-
Whatever his purpose is for not immediately putting an end to evil and suffering, it cannot be because he does not care. Christ himself suffered the pain of death from crucifixion. He also experienced a spiritual separation from God as he took upon himself all the guilt and shame and debt that we possessed for things in life for which we needed a "do-over."
I opened this discussion of "What Is Truth" with a statement my colleague made - that it was okay that I believed in God if it helped me make sense of the world. I have thought about this for years because it made it seem like if I needed to fool myself and not accept reality, then I could grasp at make-believe as an "opiate" which is how Karl Marx referred to religion.
I need God, not to make sense of the world, but because I am his child.
