How do we handle the problem of evil. Many use the issue of evil to dispute the power, or goodness of God. The argument goes something like this. If God is good, why are the innocent allowed to suffer. Either he is powerless to do anything about it, or he is not good. Why are children allowed to suffer? How do we reconcile the newborn with a horrible disease or birth defect with a loving God? The Bible explains evil as the result of sin (Romans 5:12), but not everyone who suffers is receiving punishment for personal sin (John 9:3).One of the difficulties we have is that we see everything with a finite lens (Psalm 88:3, 144:4; Job 14:1). We celebrate a birth, measure our lives in years, with death marking the end much like the period at the end of a sentence (Proverbs 5:11). We can not see beyond the grave. Is it possible that rewards await us beyond this life that outweigh the evil we experience on this earth (2 Corinthians 4:17; 1 Peter 5:4)?
We must also remember that if evil comes as a result of sin, then the possibility of evil existed from the very beginning. Man could choose to sin because God gave him a will that he could exercise as a moral agent (Genesis 2:16-17). If this were not so, then we would be forced to obey. Is it possible that when God created us with a free will he did so because it was the best possible way to make our world. What kind of world would it be if none of us could choose to follow God? There is no merit in obedience when no possibility of disobedience exists (Deuteronomy 6:25). Wouldn't creating us with a forced obedience make us automatons? We consider it a great evil when our freedom is taken away. One of the greatest assets we can have is our freedom (John 8:36).
We must realize that God allows evil as part of a greater good. The very nature of love requires that we have a choice. Choice necessarily allows rejection. But having introduced choice, God must still deal with evil. And deal with it he will. Though the problem of evil, injustice and pain cause us so much sorrow, in the end God will set things right and wipe away every tear (Revelation 21:4). When finite vision with its short sighted lens is replaced with an eternal perspective, perhaps the problem of evil will not seem so great. Weeping lasts for the night, but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5).
