First, let me say, God loves everyone. He
is no respecter of persons. Yet, all of us face different obstacles,
opportunities, and associations; sometimes due to our own initiative, and
sometimes due to factors beyond our control. In the beginning men were
given equal opportunities; facing the same opportunities
and obstacles. However, as men multiplied on the earth, settled
in different areas, and made decisions that affected not only their lives, but
those of their children and grandchildren after them, the outcomes of
these multiplied decisions produced many varied results. Some of these
decisions led to entire people groups becoming ensnared in idolatry, paganism,
barbarism, and some even devolving into uncivilized cultures. When one considers the inequities of birth;
one is born into a culture of cannibalism, ignorance, and superstition, while
on the other side of the world a child is born to affluent parents with all the
comforts of life; to include a knowledge of the true God, and access to the
Word of God, it does appear that God is not fair. But, let’s be honest: God set man in a beautiful garden with
regular communion with God Himself. It
was man’s choice to disobey God. Further
disobedience led to greater distance from God. Paul explained how pagan, uncivilized cultures
came into being in Romans 1:20-25, “…they are without excuse: 21 because that, when
they knew God, they glorified him
not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and
their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became
fools, 23 and
changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to
corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also
gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour
their own bodies between themselves: 25 who changed the truth of God into a lie, and
worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for
ever. Amen.” Consider
the nations that lead the world in prosperity, education, freedom, and
strength: they have a history steeped in
Judeo-Christian faith and practice!
From the very beginning men were given the
freedom to choose between good and evil. As "free moral agents"
we are capable of great good, and also of great evil. I suppose to
understand why God allows evil we must have a grasp of the concept of free
will. In the simplest terms: God wants to be loved because He loves
us. But, if those from whom He desires love have no choice but to love
Him, it really is not love. It has been said that love is a
decision. Without free will there is no opportunity to decide; the
decision having already been made by the Creator. Thus, God gave His
creatures; angels and men, the gift of free will.
We can see the result of free will within the
angelic realm. A third of heaven's angels chose to reject God, choosing
one of their own, Lucifer, to take the throne of Heaven (Is. 14:13, "For
thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my
throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the
congregation, in the sides of the north:". According to
Scripture God desires sons and daughters. The expressed purpose of Jesus'
coming to earth is to save people from sin; culminating in their adoption as sons
and daughters into the family of God: Ga.
4:4-5, "but when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his
Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 to redeem them that
were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.".
God promised that if we will repent that He will become our Father, and we His
children: 2 Co. 6:17-18, "17 Wherefore
come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the
unclean thing;
and I will receive you, 18 and will be a Father unto you, and
ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."
The writer
of the Book of Hebrews also tells us that Jesus came "to bring many
sons and daughters unto glory" (He. 2:10). In addition to His
plan of filling Heaven with "many sons and daughters," God
promised us something so much better than any of the angels received:
bodies like His (Phi. 3:21, "Who shall change our vile body, that it
may be fashioned like unto his glorious body." Desiring sons
and daughters that shall possess all His divine attributes poses a potential
dilemma: what if glorified men should decide to rebel after they were in
heaven? How can the Lord be sure that nothing of that sort would ever
happen? First, all men have received the essence of eternal existence;
the “breath of God” (Ge. 2:7, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”). Ecclesiastes 3:21 tells us that not all
living creatures have immortal souls: “Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth
upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?” All men have been given eternal souls; even
the unsaved. Hence, that which makes us unique
among earth’s residents is that which prevents the unsaved at death from
ceasing to exist. This may be a simple
explanation as to why the punishment of the damned must be eternal. But, it also assures us that believers will
never die. This brings us to why God allows
us to go through trials and tribulations.
If we trust God in spite of unexplained pain, heartache, and injustice while
in our weakest state (in these mortal bodies), when we are endowed with
glorified bodies, with all the knowledge and power of Jesus (1 Jn. 3:2, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it
doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear,
we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as he is.”) we will have been “accounted
worthy to obtain
that world, and the resurrection from the dead” (Lk. 20:35), then our love for God, tried and tested, will never fail.
Okay, it makes sense that we should be tested
before being endowed with a glorified body, but why did God allow men like
Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany and Pol Pot in Cambodia
Certainly God knows what will happen in the
future, so why not prevent Klara Hitler from conceiving and giving birth to
baby Adolph? Based on the same reasoning
shouldn’t God prevent the birth of King David because He foreknew that King
David would commit adultery with Bathsheba, and would kill her husband, Uriah,
in order to conceal his sin (2 Sa. 11)? Exodus
32, Deuteronomy 4, and Judges 3, all identify idolatry as evil in the sight of
the Lord. Should God kill every person
in the world that worships idols? The
Bible calls oppression of the poor evil.
It identifies lying, cheating, stealing, swearing, and many other things
as evil. As a matter of fact God says of
the heart of all men in Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is
deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Today by the grace
of God I am a child of God. But, I have
not always been so. If God did not allow
evil I wonder if He would have killed me during my years of rebellion against
Him? How do you think you would have
fared? You may say that God could
prevent evil without killing evil doers.
How; without suspending free will?
And if He suspended free will how could He know whom He could trust with
an eternal glorified body? If He gave
mankind a strong warning that if they commit evil that He will throw them into
a lake of fire someday, do you think that would curb their evil? Evidence would suggest otherwise. Because He does not immediately slay
evildoers some of us will live long enough to make peace with God. And if the argument is made that God should
repress only the worst kinds of evil, what would be the cut-off? If we draw the line at murder Moses and King
David would not survive. If we draw the
line at fornication millions would not survive.
If the line is drawn at lying no one would survive.
I think that because He
is a loving God He allows evil knowing that some of us evil doers will repent,
and become His sons and daughters.
Bottom line is: God is not
evil. People are evil. If anyone has a gripe, it isn’t with God; it’s
with men!
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