Good / Evil

Psalm 9, "I will praise You, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things You have done. I will be filled with joy because of You. I will sing praises to Your name, O Most High. My enemies retreated; they staggered and died when You appeared...The enemy is finished, in endless ruins... But the Lord reigns forever, executing judgment from His throne. He will judge the world with justice and rule the nations with fairness. The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Those who know Your name trust in You for You, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for You.... He does not ignore the cries of those who suffer. Lord, have mercy on me. See how my enemies torment me. Snatch me back from the jaws of death. Save me so I can praise you publicly at Jerusalem’s gates, so I can rejoice that you have rescued me."

Oh, how I love my God! He gives me new breath each day. He gives me glory and places my feet on sacred, safe ground. Many people argue against the existence of a loving and faithful God, because of the existence of evil. They say things like, "How can there be a good God, if there is so much evil in the world?" But I have heard it another way. The very existence of evil proves that there is a God. (I am going to botch this, but I will do my best. Ravi Zacharias can explain it better.) The very existence of evil means that there must be good. If there is good, there must be a moral law in order to determine the difference between good and evil. If there is a moral law, there must be a moral law giver. Which brings us around to the answer for the question. There must be a God. If there is a God, there must be an evil being (Satan), who is going against a good God. All of the time people are blaming God and turning against Him, toward the very one who has hurt them and caused their suffering in the first place. When we are wounded we have a tendency to turn against the very one who wants to save us. We turn against Him, because we need someone to blame for our pain. What we do not realize is that by turning against God, we are actually turning and asking for comfort from the very one that assaulted us in the first place.

"Why would God create an imperfect, temporary universe only to replace it later with a perfect one? Why wouldn't God have created a perfect universe in the first place? This is a good question, but shows a lack of understanding of the biblical reason of why God created the universe. One can find the reason for the creation of the universe in the first few chapters of the Bible. God created humans in order to have a personal relationship with them, which He had with Adam and Eve before they sinned (Genesis 2). Jesus said that the first and foremost commandment was to 'Love the Lord your God...' A personal relationship, characterized by the possibility of love, is only possible if created beings are given free will. If God had created the universe with no possibility of evil or sin, then the created beings would have had no free will, and, as such, would essentially be programmed computers. Such beings would be incapable of love, since love involves making a choice - which requires the ability to choose not to love. For example, I can program my computer to say 'I love you' when it starts up. Does this mean that the computer really loves me? Of course not! Likewise, God could have programmed humans to say that they loved Him, without the possibility of rejecting Him or performing evil deeds. However, these programmed beings would exhibit about as much true love as my computer - not a very satisfying relationship. Therefore, God created the universe for the express purpose of allowing free will spiritual beings the opportunity to have fellowship with Him (and likewise, reject Him)." ***

Do you know who you are actually turning toward when you are turning away from God! Many reject Him because they do not like His moral law, but do you know who is on the other side. I have discovered the truth to love, and that is to love the one that created love to begin with. It is easy to blame Him for what you see and feel as evil, but what you are embracing by rejecting Him is much more sadistic than the original hurt you felt to begin with. Do the research. Open your minds to truth, and the truth will set you free. Christ came and died for us, so that we will not make our beds with our assailant. Do you know who you are turning toward when you turn your back on Christ?

*** http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/evilandsuffering.html#Cnughc1WEp7T