“O Lord, why do You stand so far away? Why do you hide when I am in trouble? The wicked arrogantly hunt down the poor. Let them be caught in the evil they plan for others.” (Psalm 10:1-2 NLT)
In a series we were watching on TV, a sheriff, after discovering that a man who was a caretaker of an orphanage had, over the years, abused and killed several children and buried them in the basement, as he gazed at the now deserted building, he asked: “What kind of god would allow such a thing?”
That’s a question that has been asked for centuries, but the question with which I would ask you to wrestle is this: “What kind of God wouldn’t allow such things?” And before you shout “heresy,” please hear me out. God gives every human being the capacity to make our own choices as to what we will believe and how we will conduct the affairs of our life.
What we do with that gift is dependent upon us. We choose to submit to the Lordship of Christ and follow Him, or not. Jeremiah wrote in 17:9: “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” And I can imagine someone thinking: “See, there you go, God made us all like that!”
Actually, He didn’t. In the beginning He made us perfect with the capacity to recognize and do good and not to choose evil, but He wasn’t creating puppets, so He gave the first humans a choice, clearly explaining to them what would happen if they didn’t listen and chose to disobey. He gives each of us the same choice.
If we don’t have a choice, that’s not love, that’s slavery. For God to create us and not give us a choice to choose our own way, we’re simply puppets who must do the will of our master. That people choose evil and harm one another in unimaginable ways breaks God’s heart, but He loves us too much to force us to obey Him.
That’s why Jesus was born. God in human form came to live the life that He desires for all of us, and to offer forgiveness and the power of His Holy Presence to enable us to be forgiven and to live righteous lives. But sadly, most human beings choose their way over God’s way, thus, creating the environment in which we now live on planet earth.
However, we mustn’t forget that God is not only the God of love, but of justice. Just as He showed when He flooded the earth because of the wickedness of mankind, He will one day return, not to lovingly forgive everyone and let them come to heaven, but to once and for all punish sinners for their evil behavior. Everyone has the opportunity to see God through nature and the magnificence of His creation, including the intricacies of the human body.
I know this is a gross oversimplification, but God’s love wouldn’t be love if He forced us to obey Him, but neither would He be love if He arbitrarily stopped every person who chose to do evil. Where is justice in that? If God killed us all because we had a capacity and will to disobey Him, there would be no human life on the planet. But be assured, ultimately, no one gets away with anything evil.
The amazing part of all of this is the gift of salvation and the opportunity to change and be forgiven. We’ve all done things we regret and when we think about it, can’t believe we are capable of such a thing, but by God’s grace and because of His loving mercy, we have the privilege of seeking forgiveness and wholeness of life in ways that only God can provide.
Is there evil in the world? Absolutely! Did God cause the evil? Absolutely not! Will He one day right every wrong? Yes, He will.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 