If God is love, why do we have pain and suffering?

In class we have been going over evangelism. Looking into some of the questions a non-believer might have while talking to them about the good new of the gospel of Jesus Christ. A very common question that is asked is: If God is a God of love, why is there so much pain & suffering in the world? This is a very good and valid question. I would like to briefly answer this question from my point of view.
I am going to start in the beginning. When God created this world he created it completely prefect, without any defects or faults. He placed man in it with one simple “do not” instruction. Man disobeyed that “do not” instruction and in doing so, sin and death entered the world. It was because of that decision by man that we now have pain, suffering, death, etc… Yet God, in spite of mans disobedience, still choose to enter this world of suffering. He sent His beloved Son to take on the form of a man, to suffer with us, to die for us, that we may live through Him.
Our God of love uses the suffering that sin has brought into this world to show us our need for Him. Without suffering and hardship we would never see our need for a Saviour. God desires that everyone come to the saving knowledge of what Christ did on the cross. We will then be able to experience the unconditional love, grace, and mercy God freely offers.

~Ruth~