Suffering in a God-governed world

How is it fair for someone to be born into a world of such suffering when we are supposedly governed by a good God?

I believe the Bible teaches that this world WAS created perfectly (“saw all that he had made, and it was very good” – Genesis 1:31).  We were originally intended to live forever – no sickness, no disease, no hunger, no suffering, no death (“You must not eat fruit from the tree… or you will die” – Genesis 3:3). BUT we were given a free will to choose paths outside of God’s will (“you used to live when you followed the ways of this world” – Ephesians 2:2). Adam & Eve started that, and we’ve continued since then. After their original sin, God cursed the world (“Cursed is the ground because of you” – Genesis 3:17). I believe this is the point that initiated a gradual process that started sicknesses, disease, hunger, pain, suffering, and eventually death. A continual rejection of God has compounded those issues over the years and now we are where we are. We now live in a world full of degenerated mutations that have led to all kinds of horrible starting conditions for humans. I don’t believe God ever intended us to have to face that. I believe he gave us everything we needed to live successful lives, but we chose differently. We are to blame, not God.

BUT He didn’t just leave us alone to our demise. He sent Jesus as a lifeline to save us from ourselves (“In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world” – John 16:33). AND he will return to restore us to that glorious paradise we lost (“I will come back and take you to be with me” – John 14:3). I hope that makes sense.

I think people have lost sense of this simple explanation because of the rejection of a perfect creation / historical Adam. Evolution does not allow for a world created free of death/pain/suffering, does it? In that understanding God would be the one to blame for all those things. Doesn’t seem to align at all with the Biblical teachings about death being an enemy on the created order (“The last enemy to be destroyed is death” – 1 Corinthians 15:26) and what Jesus came to defeat for us. Most people won’t equate the problem of suffering with evolution/creation, but that’s the only way I see it. If creation is true then we are to blame for suffering. If evolution is true then God is to blame for suffering. Your choice.

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For my semi-theological / semi-scientific argument against evolution see here.