Chapter Two of The Reason for God is titled, "How Could a Good God Allow Suffering?" I think everyone can relate to this chapter because everyone has gone through a period of suffering at one point or another.
Another common argument against an all-powerful and yet loving god is that if there really is a god, he couldn't possibly allow so much suffering to go on in the world. Thus, there must not be a god - or at least not the one that Christianity preaches.
This is not only silly but a very flawed argument. Just because we don't know of a good reason for the end result of suffering doesn't mean that there isn't one.
Keller notes the irrational logic of this argument. One example of good resulting from bad is found in the survival of the fittest. Almost everyone will agree that natural selection is a good thing. "People, we believe, ought not to suffer, be excluded, die of hunger or oppression. But the evolutionary mechanism of natural selection depends on death, destruction, and violence of the strong against the weak - these things are all perfectly natural."
Another example of (the ultimate) suffering resulting in good is found in Christ's death. Jesus suffered excruciating pain. He even asked if there was some way out of it ("If it be your will... take this cup from me." Mark 14:36, Luke 22:42). "God takes our misery and suffering so seriously that he was so willing to take it on himself."
But, there is hope. We know that our suffering is not in vain, and also that "every horrible thing that [has] ever happened will not only be undone and repaired but will in some way make the eventual glory and joy [of eternity in heaven] even greater."
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