[Scripture: John 14:15-21]
Have you ever heard the question, “Why does God allow evil to hurt good people?” It is a fundamental Christian question that has been raised since ancient times. If you want to know the theological or spiritual reasons for it, I recommend you study the parable of the weeds in Matthew 13:24-30. This parable provides us some spiritual insight into why God allows evil around us.
By the way, we don’t have to interpret evil as only the actions of evil people, but also it could be the corporate and systemic evil in our society.
The first question
Let’s go back to the first question. Why does God allow evil among us? The answer is that God hasn’t created evil but allows it to work among us. Genesis 1 tells us that when God created heaven, earth, and people, he saw everything was good. So, God said, “It is very good.” There was no evil in God’s creation.
If God has not permitted evil, how can there be evil among good people? The biblical answer is that the enemy did it. The enemy is the one who willfully opposed God in the beginning and tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden. The same tempter came to Jesus and tried to tempt him when he wanted to begin his earthly ministry. Revelation 12:9 says, the tempter is the old serpent, also called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world.
From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible consistently has spoken to Christians about the existence of God’s enemy. It warns us to be aware of his temptations.
C.S Lewis said there are two equal problems that people can believe about demons.
- One is to disbelieve in their existence.
- The other is to believe and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.
The second question
Another question to ask is, if God does not intend to allow evil among us, then why does he not destroy it? The Bible answers that God cannot do it because evil is entangled in the depths of people’s hearts.
In verse 24-28, Jesus said the Kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. The owner of the field planted good seeds in the field. After that, his servants came to him and said, “We know that you sow good seed in your field. But now we found many weeds among the wheat in your field; where then did the weeds come from?”
The owner replied, “The enemy did this.” The servants asked him, “Do you want us to go and pull them up?” The owner answered, “No, because you may root up the wheat with them while you are pulling the weeds.” These verses show how deeply evil is rooted in people’s hearts and life.
Temptation is one of the powerful tools that the tempter utilizes to lure people and to take over their souls and life.
Temptation is the intentional lure of a person with some bait. In general, the bait is pride and doubt that leads to disobeying the Word of God. After being tempted, people believe lies more than the truth. False truth fills and fully occupies their hearts.
James 1:13-14 tells us how temptation works in people. “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
My father was a farmer, so I worked with him in his rice fields a lot of times. In the rice field, weeds were always mixed with the rice and growing together with them. They look like rice, but they’re weeds. Do you know how the weeds stay in rice? The weed’s roots get tangled with rice’s roots. So, I tried to pull out the weeds, but in fact, I uprooted rice with the weeds several times. My father always told me to wait until harvest day.
My rice field experience gives me a spiritual understanding of how evil works in people around us. As you know, God created good people, but evil tempted many of them and held them tightly. The root is the foundation of their hearts and life.
Again, God can absolutely use the power of heaven to destroy the evil among us. Nevertheless, God did not do it because he wanted to protect the individual who was tempted and subjected to sin. As I have told you, many of God’s children are tempted by evil and are in the custody of and controlled by it.
Ransom
God’s best solution was to send His Son Jesus Christ into this world to die as the sacrificial Lamb of God for our sins. So, instead of using His power, God decided to give His Son as a ransom for all humanity. Matthew 20:28 says, “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
In 1996, I watched the movie, Ransom. Mel Gibson played the main character. The story was about a multi-millionaire’s son who was kidnapped when he attended a science fair with his father. The kidnappers then demanded a ransom of $2 million dollars from his father, Tom. Tom called the FBI and agreed with their instructions to deliver the ransom to the kidnappers.
Finally, Tom Realized that there was no guarantee that his son would come back alive, so Tom went on the television news and offered the ransom as a bounty. So, why didn’t Tom and the FBI agents use their legal superpowers to destroy the kidnappers? The answer was that the kidnappers were holding the son hostage. The father’s goal was not to destroy them, but his ultimate goal was to return his son home alive safely.
In the movie, Tom risked everything, even his own life, and tried to save his son. In the same way, God sent His Only Son to give his life as a ransom for us. God’s goal was not to destroy evil. God’s ultimate goal is to protect his children from harm, both physically and mentally.
Practical applications
Temptation is still at work among people and even in the life of Christians. When you feel temptation in your heart, please do not immediately take your anger into action because the tempter is waiting for your reaction to ensnare you.
Do you like ice fishing? I have a story to tell you. It is a story of a fisherman and his fishing bobber. How does a fisherman know when to yank and hook a fish? When a bobber bobs up and down, that is a sign to yank it.
But please remember, the tempter cannot read the deepest part of your heart because your heart is the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit. However, the tempter knows that your reaction is a signal like a bobbing bobber. In Romans 8:27, it says, “And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”
When you feel angry because of someone, think about love. Love is patient, love is kind. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. It is the best way to protect yourself from the enemy of God.
2022.02.20. Pastor Cloud Poy
@Photo on Unsplash
