Despite all the moral evils and atrocities over the centuries and millenniums of human history, many people still seek for and believe in some trace of inherent goodness in humankind. Pop-culture, like the film industry, have desperately sought to find, show, and inspire us with this notion. Unfortunately, as noble as these efforts may seem, the approach is never really able to address the insurmountable problem of evil that predominantly characterizes our existence, leaving no one untouched.
Properly facing evil brings us to the difficult part of God’s story, that which, due to its hard nature, is often passed over fast or is outright rejected. Yet, it has a prior, deep footing in our nature. As a general axiom, we know that when we do good we may well expect good things; and, that when we do wrong we may well expect bad in return. For example, you have heard people say, or you may have said these yourself, “I have lived well why are all these bad things happening to me?” Or, “I must be suffering for the wrong that I have done!” There is this deep underlying sense of justice in the universe, in ourselves.
The answer, then, begins with a sober recognition and personal acknowledgement that, though the human race began well with God, somewhere in our distant past a choice was made to depart from God which resulted in the loss of his full blessing. This departure is recorded in Genesis 3 and on, and serves as a timeless reminder that all is not well between us and God. Hence, our longstanding experience of evil, suffering, and death.
What specific things have you seen in the world which indicate that the world is living out of step with God?
At this point you may want to say: “I never made that choice to go without God! Why should it affect me?” True, none of us make the choice to be born as we are into a world like ours. The real issue, though, comes in our choice to continue living that way. We cannot lay blame for the result of our choices at the doorstep of any other, not even God.
What can you see in your own life that indicates a choice to carry on apart from God? In what ways do you see that this has affected you, your experience, your life, and those closest to you?