I know of only one way to answer the question, "Does God care?" and for me it has proved decisive: Jesus is the answer. Jesus never attempted a philosophical answer to the problem of pain, yet He did give an existential answer. Although I cannot learn from Him why a particular bad thing occurs. I can learn how God feels about it. Jesus gives God a face. and that face is marked with tears.
We may not get the answer to the problem of pain that we want from Jesus. We get instead the mysterious confirmation that God suffers with us. We are not alone. Jesus bodily reconstructs trust in God. Because of Jesus, I can trust that God truly understands my condition. I can trust that I matter to God, and that God cares, regardless of how things look at the time. When I begin to doubt, I turn again to the face of Jesus, and there I see the compassionate love of a God well acquainted with grief.
Philip Yancey, "The Bible Jesus Read," pages 208-211
