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Why, LORD?

Posted on: 2011/01/25 | Author: System Administrator - 0 Comments

The image to the left portrays a portion of the sufferings and pains that affect people in the world today. However, it almost seems inevitable that innocent children around the world are to be victims like the one pictured here. Why is God allowing these children to die? When we see these pictures and the pain that they hold, we are even tempted to question His existence. But the Bible says that these things do not happen because of Him.

In the book of Genesis, the Bible says that "...God saw that it was good."(1:10) And a little after that, it says that "...God saw that it was good"(1:12), "God saw that it was good" (1:18),"God saw that it was good" (1:21), and again, "God saw that it was good." (1:25) In the beginning, God saw His works, and saw that it was good; in fact, in verse 31, "God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good."

According to the Bible, the original state of this world was "good". And not only that, but when God created man, He speaks and says that it was very good. Our original question was to find an answer and a reason to the suffering in the world. Let's go to Matthew 13:24-30. Here, Jesus is speaking a parable about "a man which sowed good seed in his field" and "his enemy [who] came and sowed tares among the wheat". Later, in verses 36-43, after the crowd has gone home, His disciples gather around to ask the meaning of the parable. The sower is Jesus, the field is the world, and His enemy is the devil himself. In verse 27, the servant asks Jesus, "Didn't you sow the good seed in the field? But then why is the field growing tares?" He replies, "I didn't do it. An enemy has done this."

Just like the confused servant, we may be tempted to ask God, "Didn't you sow good seed in this world? Why do you allow so much pain? Don't you claim to be a good God?"
God simply replies, "I didn't do these things. The enemy has done this." All the sickness in the world, all the wickedness, and all the evil are not created, or planted, by God. It was Satan who established these things.

Now, you might be asking yourself, "If the devil is the cause of pain, then why isn't God doing something to stop this from happening?" Looking again at Jesus' parable, the servants ask the sower, "Should we go and gather up these tares?" (13:28) But their master answers, "No, lest while you gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let them both grow together until the harvest." (13:29-30) In many places in the Bible, the harvest is symbolized as the return of Christ and the end of the world. Here, Jesus explains that both good and evil are to grow together until it is time for them to be separated, "in the time of harvest". Until then, God allows evil and the devil to remain on this earth.

As Christians, God gives us freedom of choice to either follow Christ, Prince of Life, or Satan, prince of devils. In every choice we make, in every act we do, we are choosing sides in this great controversy, for good or for evil. At the end of time, when "all appear before the judgment" (2 Cor. 5:10), God will say to "the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn." Friends, which side are you on today?

Friends, The Bible says that "God is love." (1 John 4) I pray that you believe that to be true. Our God is love. He doesn't want us to be sick, or suffering from diseases... Like I said in Wounded Healer, Jesus is our healer. He came to save us from sin and He soon coming again to save us from the pains of the world. So let's wait for the day when "God shall wipe away all the tears from our eyes and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain" (Revelation 21:4) And all will see that it is "very good." So, "let us rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulations, and continue in prayers," (Romans 12:12) choosing the good wheat over the tares of the enemy.