October 2024 From the Desk of Dave McLean

How Can God Be Loving If He Allows Evil, Suffering, Sickness And Death?

A question that often comes up in our Bible studies is how can God be loving if He allows evil, suffering, sickness and death in the world.  I can understand why people ask this question, as our world rages and rails against God and each other.  But the more I studied and meditated on this question, the more beautiful God became in my eyes- and I must say He was beautiful in my eyes before I focused on this question.

To get to the bottom of this issue, one must ask, is it loving to give your creation a mind and will to make choices?  The problem with choices is that we make them, and when choices are made, there will be a good or better one and a bad or worse one.  And with our choices, there will be blessings or consequences, as we agree with God’s will and design or we choose our own will contrary to God’s desire.  I contend that real love is giving creation the freedom to make choices, and while we will make bad choices, those that repent and return to God will prove that God’s love and their love is genuine.

I have thought this through as a father, would I want my children to be programmed to be fully without sin, and to continue that way, or do I want to shepherd them into adulthood and show them God’s love as best I can, even in light of my shortcomings.  Genuine love is a decision, a conscious and conscientious choice, and our decisions will reveal the true condition of our heart and love, or lack thereof.  I know that I live in a world of poor and even wicked decisions, but by God’s grace, I hope to walk and live out His will and purpose for my life, and bring glory to His name.  As much as our decisions have made this mess, His love and grace are greater and they fill our world, we just need to see and embrace Him.

The Lord tells us that everything He created was good (Gen 1:31).  It’s hard to find fault with that.  Not only was it good, but He equipped man for success.  He gave man wisdom, power and a Spirit connection to God.  And He has given us the power to say no to the evil one and sin.  And yet man, with his freedom to make decisions, decides poorly.  All people have made the wrong choice!  Ecc 7:20  “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.”  1John 1:8  “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”  Proverbs 20:9  “Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?” 

This mess, this evil, suffering, sickness and death, were unleashed by man, not God!  This has been brought about by the poor decisions of man, and we all have made the same decisions.  Just as is true today, satan has no power over our spirit and soul, but that which we give him, the same was true in the day of Adam and Eve.  God gave Adam and Eve the power to say no, and even instructed them to do so.  satan did not, nor could he not, force this decision upon them, satan tempted, and Adam and Eve chose to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  A very conscious decision by man to fulfil his desire over God’s.  In addition, we blame God for our sin- how arrogant.

God is Truth and God is Love- fully.  He encompasses ALL truth and love.  If you want truth and love, dwell in God and only in God, He was the Tree of Life, and He still is!  He is the wisdom from above (James 3:17).  One step away from truth and love, from God, is the knowledge of good and evil, this is the wisdom from below (James 3:15-16).  There is a life or death difference between the wisdom and love of God, and the knowledge and hatred of the evil one.

We opened the door to evil, suffering, sickness and death, how in the world can we blame God for our failure?  God did not open that door!  It is a Truth that when you turn from the Creator’s design and safeguards, there will be natural and spiritual consequences.  It’s like the blessing of gravity that keeps us from floating away from this gift of earth.  If you climb high and jump without God’s given wisdom, expect things to not go well, and don’t blame Him when they go bad.  What God designed as good, when perverted, does not bring the same blessing.  By the very nature of God’s design, these consequences should motivate us to examine ourselves, not God.

Our Creator has been so good and loving to us, He has given us everything we need to resist the evil one and our fleshly temptations.  In spite of man’s fall, He has still provided a way unto Himself through the loving sacrifice of His Son.  Blaming Him for the problems we create is rooted in pride, and pride will not help us to see clearly.  No, it is the humble heart that see’s the gift He is and the gift He has given us, and sees the error of our sin.

We will look at this subject again next month, as we need to see God as He is, not as the problem of this world, but the hope and solution to our problems.  Our God is not only loving, our God IS love!   Amen?  Amen!