Unfortunately, the events at Apalachee High School on Wednesday, September 4, 2024, reminded us that we live in a fallen world. While our hearts send up prayers on behalf of those who lost loved ones, those recovering from injuries, and those who have been traumatized by this event, our minds may struggle to understand why God allows such tragedies to occur.
Reconciling the existence of God and the presence of evil is like driving a car down a curvy mountain road on a foggy night. Although you can’t see everything in front of you or in your periphery under such circumstances, you know that you can arrive at your destination if you stay between the yellow line on your left and the white line on your right. The same principle must apply to our investigation of the relationship between a good God and an evil world. As long as we stay between the boundaries of what we know about God and what we know about this world, then we can arrive at a destination where faith can be sustained. So, let us examine some biblical truths that will serve as boundaries directing us toward a destination of understanding why evil and suffering persist in this world.
Boundary #1 – God is not the source of evil
James 1:13 says, “God cannot be tempted with evil.” The implication of this statement is that God has no association with evil. This is followed up a few verses later by James telling us that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (1:17). James’ point is that God cannot be tempted by evil because of His inherent goodness and immutability. Since God is the definition of goodness (Mark 10:18) and that will never change (Psalm 102:25-27; Malachi 3:6), then we can conclude that He is not the source of evil. In fact, this understanding seems to have influenced what John wrote in 3 John 11, “do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.” What John is ultimately saying is that we are expected to do what is good, and in order to do that, we must imitate God because God is the standard of goodness. So, the first boundary that must guide our understanding is that God is good and has no association with evil.
Boundary #2 – satan is the source of evil
Throughout the Bible, Satan is referred to as “the evil one” (Matthew 13:19, 38; John 17:15; Ephesians 6:16; 2 Thessalonians 3:3; 1 John 2:13, 14; 3:12; 5:18, 19), and we are told that “the whole world lies in [his] power” (1 John 5:19). He is the one responsible for introducing mankind to an evil choice. The serpent of Genesis 3 is identified as the one “who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world,” according to Revelation 12:9. He influenced Adam and Eve’s decision to disobey God and eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Before eating that forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve existed in a state of perfection, absent evil and suffering, and the serpent enticed them to eat the fruit by telling them they “will be like God, knowing good and evil” once they did. Adam and Eve still had to make the decision to act, but without Satan’s influence, they may never have been tempted to know good and evil. So, we must acknowledge that Satan’s influence brought evil into this world and continues to bring evil into this world.
Boundary #3 – God is greater than evil
We must remember that Satan is not the opposite of God because God has no equals (Exodus 8:10; 1 Samuel 2:2; Isaiah 44:6; 46:9; Jeremiah 10:6). Satan is a created angelic being who is significantly inferior to God because he is not omnipotent, omniscient, or omnipresent. That is why John declared, “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Who is “the one who is in the world?” Well, considering that Satan is identified as the “ruler of this world” (John 12:31) and the “prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2), it seems logical that he is “the one who is in this world.” So, what 1 John 4:4 tells us is that God is greater than evil since He is greater than its source. And since God is greater than evil, He will ultimately eradicate it. In Revelation 20, we are told that a day is coming when “the devil” will be “thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur.” Not only will Satan be judged and punished, but so will all advocates and perpetrators of evil because, according to 2 Corinthians 5:10, everyone will “appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” So, why hasn’t God dealt with evil yet? According to 2 Peter 3:7-9, it’s because there is still someone He wants to save. Peter reminded us that “the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men” before he explained that “the Lord is not slow to fulfill is promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” Just because God hasn’t eradicated evil yet does not mean that He won’t. As Peter Kreeft explained to Lee Strobel in The Case for Faith, “Criticizing [God] for not [eradicating evil] yet is like reading half a novel and then criticizing the author for not tying up all the loose ends of the plot.” So, the final boundary that must guide our understanding of evil is that God is greater than it and has plans to deal with it on the Day of Judgment.
Knowing these boundaries doesn’t make tragedies any more bearable. Knowing these boundaries doesn’t prevent us from encountering evil. Knowing these boundaries doesn’t change the past or necessarily make today any easier. However, knowing these boundaries may prevent us from leaving the roadway of faith when it’s too dark and difficult for us to see what lies ahead.