The Hope of Evil - Part II

So, I'm trying to make sense of this life for myself.  On the one hand we have the Christian God who claims to be good, and yet we witness gross atrocities being committed all round us.  How can a good god allow this? 

This brings us to our second question: Why would a loving, almighty God allow the distortion of his good creation?  Zacharias provides a second approach for this problem.

Approach #2

1.         There is evil in the world

2.         There is also the reality of freedom to choose; and where there is freedom to choose, evil will always be a possibility.

3.         In fact, concepts of love and goodness are unexplainable unless there is freedom to choose.

4.         Since love is the supreme ethic, its possibility needs freedom.

5.         Where there is freedom, there will be the possibility of evil.

6.         This is precisely the picture of creation by God in the Bible.

7.         Therefore the biblical model of a loving God, who creates for the possibility of the supreme good, may be defended reasonably and existentially.

Again, the second point can be explained.  A loving relationship is based on mutual desire and choice.  If one of the parties force the other to enter or stay in the relationship, is becomes manipulative and abusive.  If God controlled His creation like a puppet master, He would only have relationship with Himself, since the initiatives and reactions of the puppets will also be controlled by Him.  But for God to have an authentic and loving relationship with His creation, He had to provide it with free will.  This has the possibility to remain something beautiful and pure, but also to become corrupted and distorted.  Form a Biblical worldview, this is the reason Satan was able to rebel against God.  God wanted to have a pure and loving relationship with one of His angels, but the latter rebelled in resistance.

When Satan's rebellion against God failed, he focused his schemes towards the crown of God's creation... us.  If he was not powerful enough to overthrow God, he would spite God by harming what He loved so dearly, you and me.

There are no clear Scriptural references as to why Satan would have tried to turn God's creation against Him.  My guess is that once Satan realised he had lost the battle against God, he just wanted to take as much of God's creation down with him.  I believe this to be the mission of the Evil one still.

My concern would be: now that God has allowed His creation free will and had witnessed their rebellion, why does He not stop the rebellion by eliminating the culprits immediately?  This is the cry within most our hearts.  It is a cry to stop the evil that is done towards our loved ones and towards us.  This cry reveals something very interesting about the way we see ourselves.  We place ourselves at the receiving end of injustice. We see ourselves as the victims, the innocents, but are we?

Once again, if we were to measure ourselves against the Ten Commandments and Jesus' teachings, we will clearly see that we fall short of God's righteous standards.  I have gossiped before. I have stolen (only small things, but still). I have dishonored my parents. I have looked at another person with lustful intent (Jesus equates this to adultery).  I have hated someone before (according to Jesus this is murder). I have coveted the possessions of another person.  I have disobeyed God and idolized my own passions.  I am really that innocent? Are you?

I beg to differ.  We are all actually part of the band of perpetrators. We have all fallen prey to Satan's deception and transgressed God's commandments.  In doing so, we have all committed evil against Him and each other.  So, would you be safe if God were to obliterate every perpetrator from the face of the earth right now?! I won't be...

It seems like God is currently granting His creation a period of amnesty.  He is giving His enemies, that's us, time to receive His peace offering.  This offering was given in the form of His Son, Jesus, who took the penalty for our sins on our behalf.  This offering is also not forced on any part of His creation, since force will violate the ultimate ethic of love.  The opportunity to receive the sacrifice of Jesus is merely an invitation.  It is extended to everyone, but only granted to those who take hold of it and surrender.  Those who respond to God's call of surrender are spared from His wrath and punishment, but those who do not are still standing in the line of fire.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise [to return in judgement], as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

(2 Peter 3:9, NIV, parenthesis added)

According to Peter, this is the reason why Jesus has not returned yet: He is still granting us amnesty to surrender to Him and receive His peace offering.  Are you ready?

So, for now it seems as if God is allowing us rebels to continue in our plot, but He promised that we will one day be judged for their evil deeds.  God is a righteous Judge: this allows Him to give His creation free will to choose good or evil, but He responds with punishment and reward according to what we chose.

GOD’S INTERVENTION

Fortunately for us, God was not caught off guard by our rebellion.  He knew it would take place, which brings us to another question: “If God knew we would mess it up, why make us in the first place and give us the free will so that we are able to mess it up?”

I believe God’s response to our sin was twofold: His initiative to save us from our sins, and His hope that we would respond to this initiative.

From the book of Genesis, God first had to teach us the full extent of what we have done.  He had to give the Law to Moses to make us aware of the evil passions and to provide means of forgiveness for the sins we have committed.  His plan reaches the apex in the coming, the sacrificial death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus.  He broke the power that sin and death had over us (Romans 6).  From this point on He had the hope and the joy that some of us would take hold on this invitation to be reconciled back to Him.  In this context, our discomfort and disease is not the main issue.  It is only a side effect of the real problem: our separation from a loving and holy God.

This brings us back to the previous point where God may do things in ways that which we do not expect.  In the bigger scheme of things I believe there is merit to believe that God may at times use disease for His glory, not just the healing, but also the disease itself.

GOD USES DISEASE FOR HIS GLORY

Paul the apostle received direct revelation from Jesus Himself.  This was enough reason for him to become proud.  In response to this, Paul mentions a “thorn in his flesh” which God refused to remove.

So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.  Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.  That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

(2 Corinthians 12:9-10, NLT)

Many speculate on what exactly Paul’s thorn was.  I, on the other hand, know exactly what my thorn is: depression.

Ever since I can remember I have felt this desire to prove myself.  I wanted to be head boy of our school with all my heart.  It was out of this selfish motivation that I arranged a Grade 10 ball for our year group.  I wanted to distinguish myself as a leader and someone worthy of the authority, but it was a selfish notion and God, in His wisdom, chose another man for head boy and another man for deputy head boy.

This independence of mine also manifested in the area of health.  I remember times in high school where I would be bedridden with flu, but I adamantly refused to take the doctor’s medicine.  I wanted to practice my gift of healing.  God, in His wisdom, decided to deny my request and allowed me to sweat out my stubbornness for a few more days.

When my parents started to mention that I might have depression, I took offence.  I thought they were just projecting their own shortcomings and mistakes onto me.  Besides, "I am a true Christian and I cannot be put down by something as small as depression!"  God, in His wisdom, showed me in 2013 that I can.  He allowed my emotional wheels to derail so that I may become aware of my stubbornness and pride.

Today, I realize that taking my medication every morning is a statement of humility: I am not strong enough to make it on my own.  I need help from people and I need help from God.  C.S. Lewis mentioned once that we relate to each other through our weaknesses.  When we are not aware of this, we guard ourselves by only showing others our strengths.  Later on, these walls no longer guard us, but isolate us, starving us from authentic relationships.

Finally, God may use disease and suffering to test and prune our character.  In a westernized world where companies cater for our comfort, this seems a strange notion.  The book of Job, however, tells of a man who had much wealth and prosperity.  In the first chapter God boasts to Satan about how dedicated Job is to abstaining from evil and honoring Him.  Satan interjects by stating that the only reason Job honors God is because God allows him to live in comfort.  God, having faith in Job's character, removed His hand of protection over Job and allowed Satan to turn his life upside down with calamity, crisis, despair and disease.

My character was tested most in times of loss, hurt, sickness and despair.  It is where I was most vulnerable.  It is where I let down my walls.  It is where I allowed God to come close and help me, Him and others.

I see people in our church who were not instantly healed after a prayer.  Although I do believe I should always have faith in God’s ability to heal, I also believe that He uses disease to mold us in ways that healing cannot.  Three ladies in our church particularly stand out for me. Out of respect I will keep their identities concealed.  Two of them had cancer and the last one stills suffers from auto-immune diseases which are difficult to diagnose and more difficult to treat.

God is glorified through their lives, not because He healed them instantly, but by the joy, courage, thankfulness, generosity and love they display to others in spite of their suffering. Their character glorified God most in times when it was most difficult to do so.  One of my mentors once told me that people are like tea: you only know their flavor when they are put in boiling water.  Or like toothpaste: you only what is inside of them when it gets squeezed out.  Would you still smell lovely when you are boiled?  What will come out if you are put under pressure?

I am pleased to say that these ladies are a sweet and lovely fragrance every time I am in their presence.  This brings glory to God and testifies of Christ’s obedience to God, even in the hardship of the Cross.  This contrasts sharply to Adam to was disobedient in the comfort of paradise.

Dear reader,

Disease and suffering will test you in ways that comfort never will.  May you grab hold of Christ’s grace in those times.  It is sufficient.

REFERENCE

Zacharias, R., 2007. Beyond Opinion: Living the Faith We Defend. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson.