---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When someone we love suffers, we suffer…"
description: "\"When someone we love suffers, we suffer with that person, and we would not have it otherwise, because the suffering and the love are one, just as it is..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8c/frederick-buechner-883_god-s-love_when-someone-we-love-suffers-we-suffer-w_2547827.png"
---

#  When someone we love suffers, we suffer with that person…

![“When someone we love suffers, we suffer with that person, and we would not have it otherwise, because the suffering and the love are one, just as it is with God's love for us.” quote by Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8c/frederick-buechner-883_god-s-love_when-someone-we-love-suffers-we-suffer-w_2547827.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8c/frederick-buechner-883_god-s-love_when-someone-we-love-suffers-we-suffer-w_2547827.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8c/frederick-buechner-883_god-s-love_when-someone-we-love-suffers-we-suffer-w_2547827.png)

> “When someone we love suffers, we suffer with that person, and we would not have it otherwise, because the suffering and the love are one, just as it is with God's love for us.”

[Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Suffering and love are intertwined; we feel pain when those we love suffer because love and suffering are one.

**In simple terms:** Love and suffering are inseparable.

Key Takeaway

Recognize shared pain as a sign of deep love.

Themes

love compassion suffering empathy spirituality

Mood

empathetic reflective

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- grief counseling
- supporting loved ones
- spiritual reflection

Key Concepts

interconnectedness humanity divine love

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we balance empathy with self‑preservation?
- What limits should we set when sharing another’s pain?

A Different Perspective

The view may overlook personal boundaries and self‑care.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[God'S Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-s-love/) [Helping others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping-others/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/)

## Related quotes

> [To love is to suffer. To avoid suffering one must not love. But then one suffers from not loving. Therefore, to love is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/to-love-is-to-suffer-to-avoid-suffering-one-must-not-love-but-then/)

[Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/)

> [“...and if he suffers, he must suffer for what he has done, not for what he has caused others to suffer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/and-if-he-suffers-he-must-suffer-for-what-he-has-done-not-for-what-he/)

[Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/)

> [you can do something. You can, even for one person Don't turn away; help. Because those who suffer, often suffer not because of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/you-can-do-something-you-can-even-for-one-person-don-t-turn-away-help/)

[Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/)

> [“Suffering has its place in the scheme of things. It serves a purpose even though the sufferer may be entirely free from the taint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-f-merrill/suffering-has-its-place-in-the-scheme-of-things-it-serves-a-purpose/)

Joseph F. Merrill

> [Romantic love is blind to everything except what is lovable and lovely, but Christ's love sees us with terrible clarity and sees us whole.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/romantic-love-is-blind-to-everything-except-what-is-lovable-and/)

[Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/)

> [“but love is not fashionable anymore, the poets have killed it. They wrote so much about it that nobody believed them, and I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/but-love-is-not-fashionable-anymore-the-poets-have-killed-it-they/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [Love suffers long and is kind. Love does not parade itself, is not puffed up, does not behave rudely, does not seek its own,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/love-suffers-long-and-is-kind-love-does-not-parade-itself-is-not/)

Pacifiersucker

> [...those who love suffer when who they love suffers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/those-who-love-suffer-when-who-they-love-suffers/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Love never claims,it never gives;love never suffers,never resents,never revenges itself. Where there is love there is life;hatred leads to destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/my-favorite-qoutes/love-never-claims-it-never-gives-love-never-suffers-never-resents/)

My Favorite Qoutes

> [Love never claims, it ever gives; love never suffers, never resents, never revenges itself. Where there is love there is life; hatred leads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/love-never-claims-it-ever-gives-love-never-suffers-never-resents/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [Love never claims, it ever gives. Love ever suffers, never resents never revenges itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/love-never-claims-it-ever-gives-love-ever-suffers-never-resents-never/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [God's love never ceases. Never... God doesn't love us less if we fail or more if we succeed. God's love never ceases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/god-s-love-never-ceases-never-god-doesn-t-love-us-less-if-we-fail-or/)

[Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/)

> [By experience; by a sense of human frailty; by a perception of "the soul of goodness in things evil;" by a cheerful trust in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-william-robertson/by-experience-by-a-sense-of-human-frailty-by-a-perception-of-the-soul/)

[Frederick William Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-william-robertson/)

> [God's love is as objective as light. Because the sun in a sense is light, or the source of light rather than being lit,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/god-s-love-is-as-objective-as-light-because-the-sun-in-a-sense-is/)

[Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/)

> [we need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. for in the center we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-not-avoid-our-active-lives-but-simply-bring-to-them-a-new/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

## More by Frederick Buechner

> [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/)

[Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/)

> [People are disturbed not by things but by the view they take of them. They may forget what you said, but they will never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/people-are-disturbed-not-by-things-but-by-the-view-they-take-of-them/)

[Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/)

> [It is impossible to conceive how different things would have turned out if that birth had not happened whenever, wherever, however it didfor millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/it-is-impossible-to-conceive-how-different-things-would-have-turned/)

[Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/)

> [At least to look back over their own lives, as I have looked back over mine, for certain themes and patterns and signals that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/at-least-to-look-back-over-their-own-lives-as-i-have-looked-back-over/)

[Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/)

> [Snobs are people who look down on other people, but that does not justify our looking down on them. Who can say what dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/snobs-are-people-who-look-down-on-other-people-but-that-does-not/)

[Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/)

> [I could, of course, have done no more if no less than affiliated myself in one way or another with a particular church, could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/i-could-of-course-have-done-no-more-if-no-less-than-affiliated-myself/)

[Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/)

> [Even the saddest things can become, once we have made peace with them, a source of wisdom and strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/even-the-saddest-things-can-become-once-we-have-made-peace-with-them/)

[Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/)

> [A Christian isn't necessarily any nicer than anybody else, just better informed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/a-christian-isn-t-necessarily-any-nicer-than-anybody-else-just-better/)

[Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/)

> [“The things that the world fills time with are enough to turn the heart to stone, but the goodness of time itself is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/the-things-that-the-world-fills-time-with-are-enough-to-turn-the/)

[Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/)

> [The pride that keeps us from forgiving is the same pride which keeps us from accepting forgiveness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/the-pride-that-keeps-us-from-forgiving-is-the-same-pride-which-keeps/)

[Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/)

> [“You can kiss your family and friends good-bye and put miles between you, but a the same time you carry them with you in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/you-can-kiss-your-family-and-friends-good-bye-and-put-miles-between/)

[Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/)

> [If the truth is worth telling, it is worth making a fool of yourself to tell it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/if-the-truth-is-worth-telling-it-is-worth-making-a-fool-of-yourself/)

[Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/)

> [I suspect that Jesus spoke many of his parables as a kind of sad and holy joke and that that may be part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/i-suspect-that-jesus-spoke-many-of-his-parables-as-a-kind-of-sad-and/)

[Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/)

> [“How Adewen stuffed her braid in her mouth at that! Or she'd cover her mirth with her hands and shake till you'd think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/how-adewen-stuffed-her-braid-in-her-mouth-at-that-or-she-d-cover-her/)

[Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/)

> [Resurrection means that the worst thing is never the last thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/resurrection-means-that-the-worst-thing-is-never-the-last-thing/)

[Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/)

[Explore all 339 Frederick Buechner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/)

## More God-s-love quotes

> [we need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. for in the center we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-not-avoid-our-active-lives-but-simply-bring-to-them-a-new/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [God's love is as objective as light. Because the sun in a sense is light, or the source of light rather than being lit,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/god-s-love-is-as-objective-as-light-because-the-sun-in-a-sense-is/)

[Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/)

> [“We may give our human loves the unconditional allegiance which we owe only to God. Then they become gods: then they become demons. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/we-may-give-our-human-loves-the-unconditional-allegiance-which-we-owe/)

[Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/)

> [By experience; by a sense of human frailty; by a perception of "the soul of goodness in things evil;" by a cheerful trust in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-william-robertson/by-experience-by-a-sense-of-human-frailty-by-a-perception-of-the-soul/)

[Frederick William Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-william-robertson/)

> [“There is nothing we could ever do to make God love us more; there is nothing we can do to make Him love us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dillon-burroughs/there-is-nothing-we-could-ever-do-to-make-god-love-us-more-there-is/)

[Dillon Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dillon-burroughs/)

> [ “\[THE DAILY BREATH\] I love the ending of the novel "The Shack" by William Young. Mackenzie, the main character, encounters Jesus during his near-death… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/the-daily-breath-i-love-the-ending-of-the-novel-the-shack-by-william/)

[Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/)

> [God's love never ceases. Never... God doesn't love us less if we fail or more if we succeed. God's love never ceases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/god-s-love-never-ceases-never-god-doesn-t-love-us-less-if-we-fail-or/)

[Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/)

> [“If you want those around you to accept God and His many gifts, first accept His love for you. Then help build an environment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mangan/if-you-want-those-around-you-to-accept-god-and-his-many-gifts-first/)

David Mangan

> [There's no limit to God's love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/there-s-no-limit-to-god-s-love/)

[Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/)

> [God's love is not wearied by our sins &amp; is relentless in its determination that we be cured at whatever cost to us or Him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/god-s-love-is-not-wearied-by-our-sins-is-relentless-in-its/)

[C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/)

> [And the reason is found in the first lie - the lie which you hold as the truth about God - that God cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/and-the-reason-is-found-in-the-first-lie-the-lie-which-you-hold-as/)

[Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/)

> [ATTRIBUTES OF GOD Because God is spirit...I will seek intimate fellowship with Him. Because God is all-powerful...He can help me with anything. Because God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-william-r-bright/attributes-of-god-because-god-is-spirit-i-will-seek-intimate/)

Dr William R Bright

> [If other people choose to believe because I do, great. I want to show people God's love through what I do and who I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-aiken/if-other-people-choose-to-believe-because-i-do-great-i-want-to-show/)

[Clay Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-aiken/)

> [God’s love is there for you whether or not you feel you deserve love. It is simply always there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/god-s-love-is-there-for-you-whether-or-not-you-feel-you-deserve-love/)

[Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/)

> [Jesus says, "Keep your heart on the kingdom first. Keep your heart on God's love. Keep focused on the fact that you are God's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/jesus-says-keep-your-heart-on-the-kingdom-first-keep-your-heart-on/)

[Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/)

Browse all 494 God-s-love quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "When someone we love suffers, we suffer with that person, and we would not have it otherwise, because the suffering and the love are one, just as it is with God's love for us.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Frederick Buechner"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/when-someone-we-love-suffers-we-suffer-with-that-person-and-we-would/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "God-s-love"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/when-someone-we-love-suffers-we-suffer-with-that-person-and-we-would/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8c/frederick-buechner-883_god-s-love_when-someone-we-love-suffers-we-suffer-w_2547827.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8c/frederick-buechner-883_god-s-love_when-someone-we-love-suffers-we-suffer-w_2547827.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8c/frederick-buechner-883_god-s-love_when-someone-we-love-suffers-we-suffer-w_2547827.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“When someone we love suffers, we suffer with that person, and we would not have it otherwise, because the…” — Frederick Buechner",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Frederick Buechner",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "When someone we love suffers, we...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/when-someone-we-love-suffers-we-suffer-with-that-person-and-we-would/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/when-someone-we-love-suffers-we-suffer-with-that-person-and-we-would/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
