Tragic accidents do happen, and when they do, someone is bound to ask, "Why did God let that happen?" The fact that floods, earthquakes and violent deaths take place is reason enough for some to bring charges against God.
We are often told by our preachers that God loves us and cares for us. But, with Gideon in the Bible, we ask, "If the Lord he with us, why is all this befallen us?" Judges 6:13. If God really cares for His c;'eation, why does He allow suffering, pain and evil to exist? "How are you going to answer that. Preacher?"
First of all, I don't pretend to know all of the ways of God. While God's mind is revealed in the Bible, we are also told, "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" Romans 11:33.
That does not mean we can know nothing of God's ways, but His "ways" are often not our ways. When God made us with the ability to make our own choices, some of our choices were almost certain to become a source of danger to ourselves and others. That's just the way this world is. God could have programmed us in such a way that we would always do the right thing and make the right choices, but He did not. So, when one person causes harm to another, or makes a mistake that harms others or himself, it's not because God doesn't care, but because God made man with the right to choose. God never promised that this world would be what man wants it to be, but it is precisely what God needs it to be: that is, a proving ground for man; a place for us human beings to prove our fitness for the Kingdom of Heaven. We know that death is a part of life, and 'hat death is often untimely and difficult to understand. When a drunk driver kills someone, many are prone to question God's omnipotence or His love. Of course. God did not want that person to die, but the man got drunk, anyway. He could have made that man in such a way that he could not get drunk. But that was not His plan. Remember, God's only Son lived in this world, and He died an untimely death.
God created man with "dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing," Genesis 1:26.
But sin took away that dominion. Genesis 3:14-24. Today, at least to some degree, the earth has dominion over us. Weeds, thorns and pain frustrate us. Weather patterns provide us with the changes of seasons, sunshine and rain, seed time and harvest, but can also result in pain and inconvenience. When did God promise rain would only come when I want it? Where did He ever promise life on this planet would be free from pain? Those promises are not there, but many assume they should be. Interestingly, man is just now realizing that suffering and pain are not always negative, but can result in such positive qualities as tenderness, strength, empathy, maturity, and endurance.
Yes, God cares, and He could eliminate all the evil in the world. But again, that's not His plan. Besides, the cost of that Utopian world would likely be more than most of us would be willing to pay.
Heaven is a place filled with bliss and joy, and it is available to "all who obey Him," Hebrews 5:9. Jesus said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly," John 10:10. Even so, with Paul I long for that eternal home where tears, death and suffering are no more, 2 Corinthians 5:1-8. As with those everyday decisions, however, the choice is yours. What will you choose?
