If God is good - why is there so much evil in the world?

Questions and Answers

If God is so good… why is there so much evil in the world?

By Lars Hyldgård

Put in short: Because God chose to create man with a free will.

It can be difficult to imagine an exciting or attractive world without free will in it! Without free will, we would have been robots. Free will is the foundation of love, of creativity and of many of those things that enrich your daily life the most. But at the same time, free will is also the basis of hatred and of those things that bring pain into human lives. The human will can be both a beautiful and terrifying thing. But love is such a great and wonderful thing, that God did not desire a world without the free will of man.

The Bible tells us: The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s; But the earth he has given to the children of men (Psalm 115:16).

God has entrusted us with the responsibility of this earth. That means that we are held accountable by the way we treat this earth and each other. This knowledge is essentially a constructive help to us. In this life, we can choose to listen to that which is either good or evil. We can impact the world in an either good or evil way! And it has an enormous importance in regard both to us and the people around us, what we choose here. When this life is over, we will all be held accountable to God. God will judge us for the evil we have done. God, who has entrusted us with this life, will hold us accountable. Therefore, it’s better if we judge ourselves now – and change our direction in life, so that we will not be judged by God someday.

How can we use our free will in the best way possible?
We do this by listening to the One who has made us. He wants us to walk in love. In this way, we are helping to make an evil world a better place. We are called to love like Jesus.

What about people that are suffering?
God is in no way indifferent to people who suffer. In fact, He cares and weeps over the suffering and oppression that people on earth go through. He wants for you and me to help ease suffering and fight injustice. Perhaps you have experienced how people have caused unjust harm in your own life? Perhaps, by what you have said or done, you have been the cause of pain in other people’s lives?
The good news is, that one day, God will end all suffering for those that have received Jesus Christ as their Savior. Here we can add that little, innocent children, that die all too soon, will go directly to heaven, because Jesus said that theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Without light we will end up in darkness
It is in fellowship with God that our lives will enter that balance, which we were created for. There, righteousness, life and joy are released. Jesus said:

I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life. (John 8:12).
But if we choose to turn our backs on God and His good will, then another power will have an easier access to us. This speaks about evil itself – the devil and his demons. If we do not believe that the devil exists, it will be difficult for us to understand the world we live in – and maybe also the battles that we might experience in our own souls. How can people in some cases develop such evil behavior? Why does history show us that, suddenly, cruel regimes can rise up, that create terrible concentration camps, such as those seen under Hitler or in North Korea? Yes, there is evidently an evil force working in this world that we human beings can come under the influence of.
That’s why we need the same love that Jesus had – it’s the only light that drives out darkness.

Will God then continue to watch, as precious people are oppressed?
No, the Bible tells us that one day Jesus will come back and end all evil on earth. He will return as the King of Kings, and every knee will bow to Him. He will make our broken world into the most wonderful Paradise again. But first the gospel of Jesus will be proclaimed to all nations, and people of all ethnical groups will find salvation in Jesus. Through His Son, God will prove that love is stronger than hatred, and that good can conquer evil.
God is good. He did not leave us totally to ourselves. He sent His own Son, so that through Him, we can be forgiven – and receive a second chance. A second chance where we – by His help – can conquer evil with good!

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