Many years ago, as a young man in a new church, I was in a group that was invited to offer consolation to a young mother.  She was looking for answers to why her baby, less than a year old, had just died.

I listened to what the older, established members said, and I was left wanting answers too.  I heard well-meant platitudes and church jargon that didn’t provide any answers at all.

There are many examples we could share on this question.  I recently heard an audio version of the book by C S Lewis, “The Problem of Pain”, which explores this in depth, but I can’t think of anything he said that would have helped that young mother.

In  my journey of belief, I have only found an adquate understanding of this dilemma in the person of Jesus, so I hope this will be sufficient cause for you to seriously explore that the bible has to say on these questions about life.

The best answers I have seen are given by Professor John Lennox — here is a link to a recent YouTube video of a short impromptu talk on The Hardest Question We Have to Face

Several years ago, I summarised my thoughts on this question when preparing a Communion reflection (see link).