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God's Love, Evil and Suffering
by Robert Driskell In light of recent current events, some have voiced questions about God's goodness, His presence, His love, or His power. They ask, "If God is all-powerful and loves us, why doesn't he do something about all the tragedies in the world?" One atheistic skeptic even suggests that, if we are going to thank God for sparing the lives of those who were not killed in the recent floods, tornados, etc., then we should also thank Hitler and Osama Bin Laden for not killing those they spared. This skeptic has once again created god in his own image a straw god, that is. To compare the motivation of evil men to the love and wisdom of God is ridiculous and undeserving of further comment. We can rest assured that whatever God does, it is best (Psalm 119:68). God sees our existence from a different perspective than we see it. He knows all circumstances and how every action and event affects the future. Therefore, what we view as an accident or tragedy, God is able to use for His good. God did not create evil and suffering in the world. God created everything perfect (Genesis 1:31; I Timothy 4:4). It was man's rebellion that corrupted God's good creation and it is man's continued rebellion that increases that corruption (Genesis 3:14-19). The Bible says that all of creation is groaning under the weight of sin (Romans 8:22). The earth, and our life on it, is temporary. If our focus is wholly on this world and its concerns, we are missing the big picture. If we live a hundred years, we consider ourselves to have had a full life. However, the Bible says that our life here on earth is a mere fleeting vapor (James 4:14; Job 7:7; Psalm 39:5). Our real life, our eternal life, should be our true concern. The Bible tells us that our hearts should be set on a relationship with God that begins here on earth and will last for eternity. It tells us that any hardship or tragedy we experience in this life will not even warrant consideration when compared to the glory of heaven (Romans 8:18; I Peter 5:1). Our responsibility here on earth is to "love God with all our heart, soul, mind, body, and strength" and then to "love your neighbor as yourself" (Luke 10:27; Mark 12:29-31; Matthew 22:37-39). When our lives are committed to God, we will understand what He wants us to understand and those things we don't understand, we can still have a peace about; knowing that He is in control and He loves us. Seeking to introduce people to Jesus Christ and to help them become "transformed by the renewing of their mind." Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |