Reflections

Why did God let evil happen

In looking at the apparent defeat of God's purposes in the garden of Eden,  (Gen 3) people sometime say, "why didn't God put out His hand to prevent these things from taking place? Why didn't the Almighty intervene to prevent such a catastrophe?" There are several answers to this question.

1. God made us as free agents and is obliged to respect that freedom. If His heart of love would have been content with marionettes, and not men, then He could have had  a sinless and perfect world.

2. God rules the world by inflexible laws which apply equally to everyone. The universe would be greatly unbalanced if there was no principle of cause and effect. If quinine killed malaria germs on one occasion, and killed the patient on another, no medical service would be possible. Having established the universe on firm laws, God would violate His own nature if He intervened to change them.

3. God foresaw that he would transform evil into good and made the gain greater than the loss. A young army officer said, "Weather in war is always favourable, if you know how to use it."  That is the point, - if you know how to use it. Infinite wisdom  knew how to use man's sin and rebellion to further the divine goal, and  there is, therefore, no sin, no suffering, no frustration, no disappointment that cannot be gathered up by Him  and used for higher ends. God is never nonplussed - He always has a way out. If He  can't do this, then He can do that -  and both are equally good in the final results. When God is faced with problems He does not break up - He breaks out.