Read today’s texts first: 2 Kings 8,9; 2 Chronicles 21; 1 Timothy 4
God allows evil because real love requires free will.
“Everything God created is good!” It’s hard to reconcile these words from Paul’s inspired letter to Timothy (4:4) with the murderous corruption we read in the Old Testament. I had this discussion recently with the husband of one of our residents. His concern is a common one: “how can a good and loving God allow the innocent to suffer?”
While thinking about that, I started today’s readings from 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. It was not happy reading: wars (21:10), the cold-blooded murder of six brothers (21:4), vile disease (21:18), the assassination of three kings (8:12-15; 9:24-27), and a queen thrown out a window and devoured by street dogs (9:32-37). The most shocking part was reading how some of these events were predicted and possibly orchestrated by God. How can a good and loving God be involved in this kind of mayhem?
There’s a much better long answer but here is the short version: this kind of world was not God’s preferred plan. His initial creation was perfect: no sin, no disease, no death. His final creation will be similar, but even better. But this present world has been so contaminated by sin that even innocent people are affected. God allows it because love demands free will. Sometimes God has to judge sin when it happens to slow down our self-destructive ways, as we read today. However, if God decided to judge everyone who has ever rebelled against Him, we would all be dead. But He withheld His judgment from us, and poured it out instead on His own Son. That’s an incredibly good and loving God!
“Lord Jesus, what You did for us, for me, was far more loving than we deserve. And yet, I gratefully receive Your free gift of forgiveness and look forward to joining You in the perfect creation yet to come, where there is no more sin, no more disease, and no more death.”
No comments:
Post a Comment