(FreeImages.com/PontusEdenberg)
Two close friends and I sat, cross-legged on the floor, drinking tea… comfortable enough to ask some hard questions. The questions went like this: “If God is both good and Sovereign, why do we see such evil in this world?” It’s a question that lingers in a lot our minds when we see the depths of evil that shatter our innocence and the sweet idyllism of youth.
These friends and I have come to know our God personally, and we know Him enough to know that He is good. We have seen His power, and we know He isn’t weak. So, why evil?
While sipping the comfort of the tea and gazing at the love-filled eyes of these dear friends/sisters, it struck me! We look at this so wrong so often.
There are two parts to the answer: one is that God has chosen to give us free will. I see this over and over again. Love gives the freedom to choose. Anything forced or manipulated is not true love. With the ability to choose means that evil will exist.
The fact that we see both good and evil in this world demonstrates that there are two forces at work in this world: the force of evil and the force of good. I believe intrinsically we all know this, and our sub-conscious reflects this in movies and books.
What struck me though while listening to this discussion is we wonder why there is evil if God is all-powerful and all-good when in reality we should wonder why there is any good in this world except there be a good God?
The fact that there are examples of sacrificial love, faith, hope, true joy, true peace, generosity, and selflessness indicates that there is present a God who is good — Whose influence permeates this world from falling beyond hope and from yielding completely to the baser elements of evil.
God is Sovereign and God in His sovereignty chooses to allow free will. Why? I believe it’s because “wills” are important to Him. God wants us to exert our wills to respond to Him. He wants us to exert our wills to surrender to His loving and all-wise guidance. God woos us for this purpose.
We should not be shocked there is evil in this world — rather we should be amazed that there is good, life, and how many times we are protected and bad things don’t happen. A world left to itself would only portray death. It would be a base world where only the strongest, smartest, and most charming survive. It would be a world where selfishness dominates — where people are only as valuable as they are useful or “usable.”
God though doesn’t operate that way. He loves the unlovely. He forgives the “unforgivable.” He redeems the “useless.” He takes the ugly and makes it beautiful.
In the end, evil finally will be obliterated. God’s justice will prevail, and the baser elements, the suffering, the anguish, the pain, the evil will be removed. Why?
Because love always triumphs over evil, and truth always trumps the lie. The day is coming!
The time we have now is a gift — a gift to respond to a God who is love, truth, and just! The choice is ours!
I choose Him. What about you?
Grace In The Moment 
We live in a fallen world, but Christ will put it back together when He returns.
Comforting, isn’t it?!! I believe that this life is about God wanting to use us to be a part of that process. He has begun the process here. We see an earthly kingdom, but at the same time, there is a Heavenly Kingdom — a kingdom ministry going on!