The following thought-provoking and perhaps "age-old" question was emailed to me this week from a person whom God allowed to find this website:

 

"I found your website and am wondering why God allows such bad things to happen to people? Is he/she/it powerless to stop it or is it up to chance. Terry."

 

MY RESPONSE:

 

Dear Terry,

 

There is so much that can be said in hope of helpfully answering your heart-felt question. My response here may seem long, yet I know that volumes have been written on this subject. Nevertheless, please allow me to share some thoughts in the form of a "message" that I trust has been given to me, one who has also struggled with this question, to share with you:

 

I'd like to begin with a story: Several years ago, John had been shoveling snow on his driveway when his wife said she was going to move the car and asked him to watch their young daughter. As the car backed out, they were suddenly thrust into the worst nightmare that parents can imagine: their toddler was crushed beneath a wheel.

 

John never forgot what it’s like to hold a dying child in his arms. So deep was his initial despair that he had to ask God to help him breathe, to help him eat, to help him function at the most fundamental level. Otherwise, he was paralyzed by the emotional pain. But why did this have to happen? How could God allow this to take place? Where was God in this situation? And how could any of John’s non-Christian friends believe in a loving God when this happened to him, a loving guy?

 

Early on in what has become known as God’s Word given to us through the Hebrews, the Jews, some of whom came to know Jesus and others who chose not to know him, and written down by Moses, we read the results/consequences of humankind choosing our own will over God’s will for our lives. As recorded in Genesis chapter 2, verses 16 and 17, we read: “And the LORD God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.’”

 

I believe we learn at least two timeless truths from this text:

 

First, Love allows freedom ( based on vs. 16).

 

Adam was created as a free being, and he was free to eat from any tree in the garden, not only the trees bearing good fruit, but even the tree bearing bad fruit, the tree that many theologians refer to as the “tree of death.”

 

We were created to be free. If God created a world in which there was no human freedom, He would have had to create a world in which there were no human beings. To be human is to be free, free to make decisions rather than to have those decisions made for us. Free to behave responsibly rather than respond robotically. Free not from making decisions but free to decide.

 

One of the most de-humanizing things a person can go through is a loss of his or her freedom to make choices, as freedom would not be freedom, if there were no choices to be made. In fact, many cults are formed because of the surrender of a person’s freedom to make decisions on their own. Somebody else makes those decisions for them. Isn’t that what made the “Taliban” so powerful?

 

As Walter Martin has said, in his best-selling book entitled the Kingdom of the Cults, “Cult mind-control includes controlling one’s behavior, thoughts, emotions, and information. It involves social isolationism, behavior modification techniques, and the autocratic leadership of a person who intentionally robs his followers of their freedom to make rational choices.”

 

When it comes to major decisions in life, it is often easier to let somebody else choose from various options for us. And yet, although it may be easier, it is never better, as it dehumanizes the person giving up their status as a free moral agent, which is the essence of being created in the image of God.

 

Now, if God is love, and love allows freedom, then freedom allows choices (vs. 17a).

 

Adam had a choice to make. He could choose to follow God’s will or his own will for his life. God told Adam, “you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil…” Notice, God didn’t say, you “can not” eat from that tree. He also didn’t tell Adam that he would not be “able” to eat from that tree. He simply said you “must” not eat of that tree. It’s the type of thing that a true friend is telling you when they simply say, “don’t do it,” or “don’t go there!”

 

I remember when, not too many years ago, my younger daughter, Ashley, was discovering the joys of human free will, willingly crawling around the house for the first time, she was free to touch many things. She could touch her dolls and teddy bears. She could touch her food. She could touch mommy and daddy’s feet as she moved throughout the halls of our house. But there were certain things that were “off limits.” In particular, she was told that she must not play with the electrical circuits. We understood why, but she didn’t. So what did she do? She proceeded to show great interest in the electrical circuits, and even those funny looking plastic covers that mommy placed over them. Was she able to touch the circuits? Yes. Was she willing to touch the circuits? Yes. But was she advised to do so-absolutely not! The message she received from her parents was “don’t go there!” But that could not stop her. She used her “freedom to touch anything” to touch the untouchable, and suffered the consequences as a result.

 

Why? Because choices have consequences (17b).

 

Adam could have chosen God’s will, and lived. Instead, he chose his own will, and died. In the NIV, the second half of verse 17 says “for when you eat of it you will surely die.” The New American Standard version translates the Hebrew this way: “in the day you eat of it, you will surely die.” The King James Version says this: “for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Looking at the Hebrew, they are all basically saying the same thing, which I believe the New Living Translation captures clearly: “if you eat of it, you will surely die.”

 

Why do I mention all of this? Because it would be easy to assume that humanity was destined for doom before we were even given a chance. But we weren’t. We had a choice. We might say, “It’s God’s fault that we were able to sin.” Yet, it wasn’t until we disobeyed that we went from being “not able to sin” (while still being free) to being “not able not to sin.”

 

You see, the one negative command given in the garden is set in the context of divine care and provision. It is not a harsh restriction, but rather a symbol of the fact that crossing the God-given limits diminishes, rather than enhances, human well-being. When we try to be God, whether through redefining marriage, or through cloning human beings, or even deciding when it’s okay to get revenge on someone verses when it isn’t, we jump over that invisible fence that’s around the tree. God’s commands give us boundaries within which there is freedom. Adam and Eve learned this the hard way.

 

Genesis chapter 3 gives us the details of disobedience and its deadly consequences for all of humanity: Shame, Isolation, hurt and pain –in childbirth, in relationships, at home, at work and in life; the blame game and its victim mentality, husbands that are dictators rather than servant leaders, wives that are doormats rather than godly helpers, physical death, spiritual death in separation from God, rape, incest, abortion, infertility, persecutions, war, famine, starvation, aids, floods, earthquakes, and other natural disasters;  drive-by shootings, terrorist attacks, Hitler, Stalin, and Osama Bin Laden. The list can go on and on.

 

The bottom line: We could choose God’s will and do good.  Instead, we often choose our own will, and do evil, causing suffering as a result.

 

I remember a time when our older daughter, Amanda, was with me and Anne at the Newtown Pizza Palace. In the middle of the table at which we sat was a bowl of jalapeno peppers. She tried and tried to reach that bowl with arms outstretched from her high chair. She would grab the bowl, and Anne would move it back to the center of the table. She’d grab it again, and I’d take it away. Finally, noticing that Amanda would not be satisfied until she got a hold of that bowl of peppers, our waitress suggested that we simply let Amanda try one of those peppers, implying that Amanda would never want one again. Sure enough, she was right.

 

Now, as a loving dad, I could have simply removed that bowl from the table. But would that have been good? Not if I believe that being good includes sometimes letting Amanda learn for herself why disobeying daddy is bad for her.

 

The same is true for us older children and our relationship with our spiritual “dad,” also known as God. We sometimes have to suffer the consequences of poor choices in order to learn the benefits of good ones. And if our Father in heaven were not loving, He wouldn’t let us learn these lessons through which our trials can become treasures in our lives, and our pain can become gain in our understanding of good and evil, and the consequences of our thoughts, words, and actions.

 

Lots of people would rather believe that there is no God than to believe that He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good, and yet still allows us to suffer. But we have to ask ourselves: Does the presence of suffering necessarily mean the absence of God?

 

I believe it means just the opposite. It means that He is present, and wants us to be present to Him.

 

Peter Kreeft of Boston College put it this way: Would you agree that the difference between us and God is greater than the difference between us and, say, a bear? Okay. Then imagine a bear in a trap and a hunter who, out of sympathy, wants to liberate him. He tries to win the bear’s confidence, but he can’t do it, so he has to shoot the bear full of drugs. The bear, however, thinks this is an attack and that the hunter is trying to kill him. He doesn’t realize that this is being done out of compassion. Then, in order to get the bear out of the trap, the hunter has to push him further into the trap to release the tension on the spring. If the bear were semiconscious at that point, he would be even more convinced that the hunter was his enemy who was out to cause him suffering and pain. But the bear would be wrong. He reaches this incorrect conclusion because he’s not a human being.

 

I believe God does the same to us sometimes, and we can’t comprehend why he does it any more than the bear can understand the motivations of a hunter. As the bear could have trusted the hunter, so we can trust God. Proverbs 3:5, 6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, acknowledge Him in all you do, and He will direct your path.” Sometimes we have no idea where the path is leading. But that’s okay when we know the One who leads it.

 

You see, God often permits what He hates to accomplish what He loves.

 

And what is it He loves? What is it He desires? He loves you. And He desires to have a true relationship with you. He not only wants to be reconnected with you as your loving Creator but also wants you to walk closely with Him. He doesn’t want you to live half-dead, but wants you in His life, so that you may be fully alive. But you can’t be in His life until you give up your life to Him. As Jesus said, “Whoever tries to save His life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”

 

A loving God could tolerate horrible things like starvation, or abortion, or genocide, if He knows that in the long run it will draw you to Him.

 

And that leads to my final point. Love triumphs over evil!

 

Do you need proof of this? Look no further than the cross of Christ! Through the cross, God demonstrated how the very worst thing that has ever happened in the history of the world ended up resulting in the very best thing that has ever happened in the history of the world.

 

I’m referring to the “dei-cide.” The death of God Himself on the cross. At the time, nobody saw how anything good could ever result from this tragedy. And yet God foresaw that the result would be the opening of heaven to human beings. So the worst tragedy in history brought  about the most glorious event in history. And if it happened there-if the ultimate evil can result in the ultimate good-it can happen elsewhere, even in our own individual lives. In the case of the cross, God lifts the curtain and lets us see it. Elsewhere, he simply says, “Trust me,” as He is the way, the truth, and the life, and those who trust in Him will be delivered not only from their own death, but the death of this world.

 

As Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. The popular talk show spiritualist, John Edward, helps people “cross over” from life to death. Jesus empowers us to cross over from death to life. We don’t need a medium, as we have a mediator. As Scripture tells us that there is only one mediator between man and God, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5)!

 

If God removed all evil from the world, he’d have to remove all of us-or at least remove our freedom and reduce us to functioning robotically rather than relationally. We’d be puppets rather than people. This would mean that people would not be able to freely choose love. And that is what matters most to God-that you choose to be with Him, as a bride who is convinced, but not coerced! The church, all those who have accepted Christ as their Savior and who are willing to follow Him as their Lord, is called the “bride of Christ!” And who would want a bride that is only His by force, rather than choice? This may be one reason why God will allow whatever it takes for people to see their need for him, because He loves us.

 

One purpose of suffering in history has been that it leads to repentance. Look at what happened to the Ninevites in Jonah’s day, or the Israelites in Joshua’s day, or us Americancs in our day. On September 10, 2001, admitting publicly that you were a Christ-follower was poitically incorrect. On September 11^th, 2001, praying out loud to Christ, and singing God Bless America, became politically correct.

 

Why? Because pain and suffering are frequently the means by which we become motivated to finally surrender to God and to seek the cure of Christ, as Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick…I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” It sometimes takes us getting to that point where there is no one or nowhere else to turn before we turn to Him.

 

When I ask “why do bad things happen to good people?,” I am probably asking the wrong question, because there are no good people! According to Scripture, our good deeds are like filthy rags compared to God’s goodness. Our good deeds are stained with self-interest and our demands for justice are mixed with lust for vengeances. The image of God in us is defaced, but it is not erased, and God wants to resurrect us, but He can’t do that if we refuse to get out of the grave!

 

God is not as interested in taking away your pain as He is in bringing to you His presence. 

 

The answer then to suffering is not an answer at all. It’s the Answerer. It’s Jesus Himself. It’s not a bunch of words (as Job found out). It’s the Word.

 

Jesus is here, sitting beside you in the lowest places of your life. Are you broken? He was broken, like bread, for you. Are you despised? He was despised and rejected by others. Do you cry out that you can’t take any more? He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Do people betray us? He was sold out himself. Have those we love the most caused us the most pain? Jesus loved and yet was hated in return. Do people turn from us? They hid their faces from him, but He turns His face towards you as He asks you to give your life to Him by receiving His Spirit into your soul so that He will not only be with you now, but will also bless you by your being with Him forever one day in a place of no sickness, no sorrow, no suffering, and no sadness because of what has been done for you by your Savior (John 1:12; 3:16-17; 1 Corinthians 2:9; Revelation 21:4). Will you come to Him today (Matthew 11:28-30)  so that you can rest (inwardly and outwardly) in Him tomorrow and rejoice through Him forever?

 

 

Well, I finally got to this question that God has brought to my attention. I've "been there and done that" myself, years ago when I was seeking. It takes a lot of humility, honesty, and honor towards God and a healthy "fear" of God to attempt to speak on His behalf, based on His Word and my own experience in my relationship with Him. Yet, here's what I felt He gave me to write to you, on His behalf, if He would so will, by simply typing the first thoughts that popped into my mind in response to some questions that a dear brother in Christ, Greg Baron, brought to my attention via what he had heard were the two most asked questions on Google searches according to National Public Radio (NPR), "God, are you out there?" and "God, can you hear me?":

 

Yes, I am out here and yes, I can hear you. I've waited for you to acknowledge me for so long. I've created not only the universe, but I've also created you, because I didn't think the universe was complete without you. In fact, of the 6.5 billion people on the planet earth, there is only one just like you-so if I didn't think you were necessary, I wouldn't have created you. If  I thought the world was complete without you, I wouldn't have allowed you to be conceived.

 

By the way, regardless of the means by which you were conceived, whether honorable (i.e. a spontaneous or even planned and intentional fruit of a married man and woman committed to each other for life out of faithfulness to me, who created marriage, and love for each other, through the "good, the bad, and the ugly," enjoying one another not only sexually but emotionally and spiritually) or terrible and evil, such as in the result of a rape, I still love you and have a wonderful plan for you and for your life (Psalm 139:13-16, Romans 8:28-39), regardless of its origin, as I am the originator of you. In fact, I love you so much (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a) that I have been waiting for you to see your need for me, as I won't force myself upon you, as I invite you to be with me. 

 

If you seek me you will find me (Matthew 7:7ff.). If you come to me, I will lift all the burdens, anxieties, and weight of the world that's on your shoulders from you (Matthew 11:28-30, 1 Peter 5:7) so that you can experience freedom not only from the evils of this world (sin of others) but also from the selfishness of our society, and the stubborness and sinfulness of your own self, forgiven and freed to begin living the life you were created to live (John 3:16-17, Acts 10:43, Romans 10:9-13).

 

You may have tried all kinds of things (success, fame in the eyes of others, approval of others, money, power, prestige, position, possessions, sex outside of marriage, drugs, alcohol, excess education, and all kinds of "pleasures," etc.) to try to become "happy" or at least "content" in your life. Yet, they may have all failed-and if not, they eventually will. You will be most content and fulfilled, finding true meaning and purpose in life, by discovering my will for your life rather than continuing to follow your own or someone else's.

 

With all of this in mind, I invite you, as I've invited my earlier followers, to "Come, follow me" (Matthew 4:19) and I will give you rest (Hebrews, chapter 4). The rest I give you will be something you experience internally that will affect how you live externally so that you'll have a lot for which to look forward eternally (1 Corinthians 2:9)!

 

You can begin right now, if you haven't already. Just call out to me, Jesus, God in the flesh, and I will be with you (Romans 10:9-13). I will live with you, in you and through you by my Spirit both now and forever (John, chapters 14-16). I love you. God

 

Well, I now speak as Jim, another servant of The One True King, Jesus the Christ (Revelation 17:14): I'm thankful for New Hope Community Church's "I.T. Guy" and "Tech Guru for God" who has set up this blog, believing not only in Our LORD but in me and my contribution to many people out there who Anthony feels need to hear the message that The LORD gave me as "packaged" by me through how He has "wired" me (1 Corinthians 12:7). I thank God for Anthony and for each of you who visit this blog and dialogue with me. I'm looking forward to our interaction here. So please write soon. Yours and His, Jim