If God Is Real, Then Why…?

I watched a video the other day where someone was arguing with an atheist. The atheist stated, “If God is all loving and good, then why is there so much suffering and evil in the world?”. This is an argument to prove that there is no God because of all the tragedy in the world. The individual arguing against this question did it by trying to prove God through reason. However, his argument never really answered the question. If God is all loving and good, why is there so much bad and evil in the world? It is a valid question that should be discussed because God is all-loving and good. However, there is so much bad and evil in this world that it is easy to conclude that there is no God.

As a believer in YHWH, I always had difficulty with this question because I never had a good answer. I could argue God’s existence through reason and logic. Still, I never had a good explanation for why God would allow so much hurt, suffering, pain, agony, and evil in the world. It wasn’t until I stopped and tried to see it through the eyes of God that I finally understood. I hope that what you read in this article sheds light on any questions you have, and if you ever want to have a deeper, more meaningful conversation, please feel free to contact me.

Let me start by quoting the Apostle Paul, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way, death came to all people, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). This one man that Paul speaks of was Adam, the first human ever created by God. “Sin” can be best translated as “to fail” or “to miss the mark.” At the creation or the world, God planted an amazing garden and filled it with all kinds of beautiful things – birds, animals, flowers, plants, trees, etc. God then made a man and woman and placed them in this garden to live. There was only one thing that God commanded of the man and woman – ” but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die” (Genesis 2:17). Did you notice what would happen if they ate from that tree? They would KNOW good and evil and would certainly DIE.

You might think, “What a horrible God that he would plant a tree and then tell his creation not to eat of it.” Is it all that different from what we do? Don’t we do the same thing with the people we love? All God wanted was complete and utter devotion to Himself and no other. Anyone who has ever been in a relationship with someone they love has had these same desires. Out of all the men in the world, my wife chose me. All I ask is that she stays devoted to me as my wife and forsake all other men. She asks the same of me regarding all the women in the world: I would forsake all other women and be devoted to her as her husband. All God wanted was complete devotion to Him.

Here is where the answer to the original question begins to take shape. “If God is all loving and all good, then why does God allow so much hurt, suffering, pain, agony, and evil in the world?” The Apostle John said it well when he wrote, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1a). What marvelous love the Father has lavished on us! The God of the universe loves his creation. He loves each and every one of us. He loves the righteous and the unrighteous – so much so that He died on the cross for both of them! (Romans 5:6, 8). The greatest act of love is allowing someone to make their decisions in life without judging, interfering, or imposing yourself on them so that they would do your will, and then stand with them throughout their life in the hope that they would see the error of their ways and look for redemption. And when they begin to look for that redemption, they turn and see that you, who have never left or forsaken them, are standing there ready to embrace them, love them, and redeem them. This, my friends, is the greatest act of love any of us could receive, and this is the gospel’s message.

This world has pain, agony, suffering, and evil because WE chose it. We decided to be unfaithful to God and seek out our selfish desires. In other words, we choose to sin, fail, and miss the mark. We are free to make whatever choices we want in our lives, but we are not free of the consequences of those choices. Remember what God told the first man and woman? “But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” YOU WILL CERTAINLY DIE! Death is a consequence of sin; the sin that WE choose to partake in. You see, God is all good and loving, which means he will never impose His will on his creation. He will allow His creation to make whatever choices they want and still choose to walk with them in their sin until they see the errors of their ways and turn to Him for redemption.

It is the same with any good parent. Parents warn their children of the consequences of what will happen if they make certain choices, but they will then allow their children to make whatever choice they want. We were warned what would happen if we didn’t listen to, trust in, and be devoted to YHWH. We would know good and evil, and we would most certainly die. We disregarded the warning and chose to do what we wanted through selfish ambition and desire. God allows us to make whatever decision we want in life. He will never impose His will on our lives. However, He does give us the consequences of what will happen if we choose not to listen to him.

To assume there is no God because of all the pain, agony, hurt, and evil in the world is to be ignorant to one’s own choices and decisions. Whether you like it or not, we are all connected, and your actions and decisions affect more than just you. “Just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way, death came to all people because all sinned.” One man caused death for ALL humanity. But here is the beautiful part of this story – “Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:18-19).

God is love, and love is the ability to watch someone you love so dearly destroy themselves without imposing your will or trying to control their actions, and then save them through the sacrifice of your own Son in hopes that they might find redemption in that selfless act. Let me now ask you a question – is controlling, manipulating, or influencing something an act of love? Is manipulation and controlling good? If you think it is, are you willing to be owned by someone else and act and do exactly what they say without question? Are you willing to be in a relationship where you must act and work exactly as your partner tells you to do? My guess is no. Then why should God interfere and manipulate the choices and decisions of his creation? That wouldn’t be very loving or good.

Bad and evil things happen because we live in a world whose occupants have chosen to disregard the warnings from the Creator. We have sinned. We have missed the mark. We have failed. It isn’t until we recognize this simple fact that we will always be in denial of the consequences of our choices. You might be thinking, “I haven’t done anything bad in my life. I haven’t murdered anyone. I haven’t physically or verbally abused anyone in my life. I volunteer tons of my time to help those less fortunate than me. How can my choices and actions negatively affect others’ lives?” So you want to argue that you live a good life and do everything right, except you still are choosing to ignore and disregard the commands and consequences of God. “Jesus answered, ”I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me'” (John 14:6). Without God, we are nothing.

We only have ourselves to blame for the pain, hurt, agony, and evil that runs rampant in this world. God shows His love by not controlling, manipulating, or interfering in our actions and choices. He goes even further in His love by sending His Son to pay the price for OUR dumb choices and actions. However, what once was asked of us by God at the beginning of creation is still asked of us now – complete and utter devotion to YHWH through the belief, trust, and obedience to His Son, Jesus Christ!