Storms, God, and the Presence of Evil
Welcome back to My Crazy Life! It's been awhile, and I apologize. God has been doing some incredible things in my life, teaching me some hard lessons, and generally moving things forward.
Today, I'd like to talk about the issue of evil in the world. There are lots of fancy philosophical ways of understanding it that are all well and good. The Bible expressely blames human sin for the existenc of the evil in the world. But why its continued presence? If God is completely good, why would He allow evil to continue? I submit that God's goodness is proven by the good things that he produces after evil has run its inevitably suicidal course.
I think the best example of this is a rain storm. Right now over rain-starbed north Texas, there is an absolutely incredible storm going on. The wind is blowing harder than I've seen it in months, and the sky is nearly green. There's no doubt that there will be destruction and loss in the wake of these storms. Yet, in the end, at least a few inches of rain will be recorded for this event, and every tree and creature will go on for another day with what was added to the water supply. Not only that, but the rain is washing the springtime pollen out of the air, bringing much needed relief to allergy sufferers across the area.
Storms, as wrathful and destructive as they can be, are the intial cause of many good things in this world. We could get the added water and allergy relief in other, less destructive ways. But storms happen in this fallen world. Though they cause bad, maybe even evil things to occur to both the deserving and undeserving alike, God in His wisdom bring about many benefits in their wakes. This is how God deals with evil in the world: He allows it to occur, but circumstnaces are never so out of His control that He cannot bring about His own good and perfect will.
Now, this does not excuse evil. God will judge and condemn Satan and others for their acts of evil. He holds them personally repsonsible for their decisions, even if the result of their actions is the greater good.
Which begs the question: how is that fair? Tune in next time!
Today, I'd like to talk about the issue of evil in the world. There are lots of fancy philosophical ways of understanding it that are all well and good. The Bible expressely blames human sin for the existenc of the evil in the world. But why its continued presence? If God is completely good, why would He allow evil to continue? I submit that God's goodness is proven by the good things that he produces after evil has run its inevitably suicidal course.
I think the best example of this is a rain storm. Right now over rain-starbed north Texas, there is an absolutely incredible storm going on. The wind is blowing harder than I've seen it in months, and the sky is nearly green. There's no doubt that there will be destruction and loss in the wake of these storms. Yet, in the end, at least a few inches of rain will be recorded for this event, and every tree and creature will go on for another day with what was added to the water supply. Not only that, but the rain is washing the springtime pollen out of the air, bringing much needed relief to allergy sufferers across the area.
Storms, as wrathful and destructive as they can be, are the intial cause of many good things in this world. We could get the added water and allergy relief in other, less destructive ways. But storms happen in this fallen world. Though they cause bad, maybe even evil things to occur to both the deserving and undeserving alike, God in His wisdom bring about many benefits in their wakes. This is how God deals with evil in the world: He allows it to occur, but circumstnaces are never so out of His control that He cannot bring about His own good and perfect will.
Now, this does not excuse evil. God will judge and condemn Satan and others for their acts of evil. He holds them personally repsonsible for their decisions, even if the result of their actions is the greater good.
Which begs the question: how is that fair? Tune in next time!