My summary & response from a section of Tim Keller’s Walking with God through Pain and Suffering

Christians don’t believe in karma. We recognize that suffering in this world is often unjust and disproportionate. For now, life on earth is under dark forces, and things simply aren’t fair – people living well and living godly lives suffer greatly. Christianity tells the truth about this reality. Even in America, one of the most privileged places to live, we see suffering that defies logic.

The rigid idea of karma can actually lead to despair very quickly because it assumes that every hardship is fully deserved, always tied to a person’s choices. But God condemns Job’s friends for this exact reasoning – for insisting that Job’s suffering must have been the result of moral failure. And we see this most clearly in Jesus – God Himself in human form – who entered into this broken world to carry out the plan conceived before time – to live a perfect life and suffer unjust punishment that He didn’t deserve… so we could enter into the divine relationship with our Creator. Justice & mercy met at the cross. The entire Christian faith centers on this reality: the only truly innocent man willingly took on suffering and punishment and wrath for the sake of others.

For the believer, suffering isn’t punishment. Jesus took all our punishment and the wrath of God – it is purification and the result of living in a fallen world still under the influence of Satan and the powers of darkness, for a time.

But we do not have to fear. The Lord Jesus has promised that He will be right with us, and His Spirit within us will carry us through. He does not leave us to suffer alone – He carries us through the deep waters, strengthens us in our weakness, sends His Body to surround encourage and uphold — and holds us fast when we feel like we cannot stand.

Suffering draws us closer to our suffering Savior, who promises to be with us in the fire and near to the brokenhearted. In light of the cross, suffering will not have the final word. One day, every wound will be healed, every tear wiped away, and all things made right, fully redeemed as they were meant to be. We will be able to lay all our suffering at the feet of Jesus and honor Him with what we endured on this mission of love.

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” — 1 Peter 5:10