Where Are You, God? -A Christian Response To Evil

If you haven’t heard the story, we had another shooting. This time, it was in Las Vegas and there are 50+ dead and hundreds wounded. Many will react to such evil and injustice with anger, frustration, sadness, and sometimes fear. These emotions are only natural. When we look into the face of evil, we shouldn’t be happy about it. Yet, we are still called to have a different reaction than those who aren’t Christian. Let me explain.

Some of the most common questions Christians are asked (or ask themselves) are about the seeming contradiction between God’s goodness and human suffering.

• Why would God allow innocent children suffer?
• Why do bad things happen to good people?
• If God is good, why do we suffer so much?
• If God really loves us, why doesn’t He take away suffering?

These questions, and many others like them, haunt many people. There seems to be no good answer. But, is that truly the case?

I would say that the answers some have received do not always satisfy unless we have a good idea of who God is. To really understand the the problem we have with evil, and in turn God’s very nature (as one who allows it to happen), we have to dive into exploring the nature of evil first.

Evil is not a thing. In fact, it is a lack of something. Evil is a lack of goodness. Just as darkness is a lack of light, so evil is a lack of goodness. When we think of it this way, we see that God, who is good by His nature, did not “create” of “invent” evil. Rather, it is God’s creatures’ failure to be good which allowed evil to enter into existence.

Furthermore, the reason death and physical suffering exist is because there is spiritual and moral evil. The cause of suffering and death is ultimately man’s sin. Because of our disobedience we suffer, in both body and soul. What we have earned by our sin is suffering and death for eternity.

This also helps us to understand the eternal love of God for us.
“But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” -Romans 5:7.
Even though what we merit by our evil is death and punishment, yet we are still forgiven.

The amazing thing about this paradox of love overcoming evil is that it leads us to the answer of why God allows evil.
The answer is found in the cross.

Suffering and physical death are not good, but neither are they evil in and of themselves. In fact, through the cross, suffering and death can be redemptive. That is, they can help us to re-capture some of the purity, love and holiness that we are created for. The Cross of Jesus is God’s answer to evil. In it, He conquers evil (and death/sin) and shows us how to overcome it.

Wrapped up in the mystery of evil and God’s nature is our own free will. With it, we are able to choose to love. With free will, we can also do great evil. God gave us this gift of freedom so we could truly have the opportunity to choose him. If we weren’t truly free (and thus incapable of doing evil things), then we would also be incapable of truly loving – which always happens when one truly chooses what is good for the other person.

From this the questions might be turned on their head. We can now understand why bad things happen to good people, but why do good things happen to bad people? It is once again because of the love that God has for all people. Not just the “good” ones.

Suffering and death can lead to holiness and union with God. Therefore, it isn’t as evil as we make it out to be. It is the eternal death of the soul we should be afraid of. All of this perfectly explains the reason St. Paul could write these words to the Romans:

“For if, by the transgression of one person, death came to reign through that one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of justification come to reign in life through the one person Jesus Christ. In conclusion, just as through one transgression condemnation came upon all, so through one righteous act acquittal and life came to all. For just as through the disobedience of one person the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one the many will be made righteous. The law entered in so that transgression might increase but, where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through justification for eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” – Romans 5:17-21

But, in the midst of suffering, any explanation still won’t necessarily make suffering easy.
With this in mind, I suggest the following advice for Christians about how we are to react to evil:

1. Never lose hope! We are a people of God’s promises and He promises to never leave us or stop loving us. 
2. Cling to The Cross! Jesus knows what suffering and evil are like, in fact, He suffered so that all of us could live forever!
3. When you are weak – Jesus is strong! He wants you to say “yes” to Him when you are weak. Because in that weakness, there is great grace, which provides a strength we cannot summon ourselves! (2 Cor 12:9-10).
4. Never stop loving! God never stops loving us and we should never stop loving Him or others.
5. PRAY! Prayer changes things. Tell Jesus your problems, fears, frustrations, etc. Let Him help you.
6. Help change the world by working for justice and peace! If we don’t, then who will? We Christians need to lead the way.
7. Help others come to know Jesus mercy, through evangelization and discipleship. This is the long-term solution to all our world's problems.