The Reality of Evil in the World

Sadly, these days what once seemed unbelievable now has become almost commonplace because of the regularity of evil things done all around the world.    

Last week eight people were killed at Metro Atlanta spas. And just two days ago, ten people were gunned down at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado. These evil acts leave us shocked, angry and filled with grief.  It is natural to ask – Why does God allow this evil to happen? If God is so good why does He allow such evil to continue?

In my opinion, the answer is simple – our ability to make choices. While we are made in God’s image (Gen. 1:27), He also gave us the freedom to make our own choices, both good and bad choices (Gal. 5:13). Because of a choice made in the Garden of Eden, all mankind fell into sin. Romans 3:23 tells us that “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

This free will granted to us by God is both our greatest blessing and our worst curse. We have the freedom to decide how to act, what to eat for breakfast, who to marry, what to watch on television, whether or not to commit our lives to Him, and sadly, yes, also the choice to kill innocent people. We have free will to love or to hate, to do good or to do evil.

God could eliminate the evil done in this world by taking away our ability to make choices. If He did, we would become puppets who do and say what God wants said and done. We would be like marionettes, with God pulling the strings. However, God does not desire us to be like puppets. He desires to be loved by people who freely choose to follow and obey him. Love is not love if there is no other option. Obedience is not obedience if there is no other choice.

You probably know what is arguably the most familiar verse found in the Bible, John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

But do you know, just a few verses later, we find out the root of our evil – “And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil” (3:19).   

So, that very same God who gave us free will, the ability to do and say both good and bad, also sent His Son into the world as a way for every man, woman and child – yes, even those who do evil – to be redeemed and restored, through which bad people do not become good people, but instead, sinful people (all of us) become forgiven and changed people.

Change our hearts, O God! And we cry out to Jesus, who is our Prince of Peace – please let us feel Your presence, that life-changing presence, and see Your unlimited power, the only transforming power to change the world!