He is not the cause of evil in this world

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God's people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes - these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.

"If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand" (Psalm 130:3).

One of the most common questions every person wrestles with in life is this: "God, if You are loving, just, and all-powerful, why do You allow good people to suffer?" Many choose not to believe in God because they cannot adequately explain this question. Evangelist Billy Graham addressed this question in his book Answers to Life's Problems:

We do not know all the reasons why God permits evil. We need to remember, however, that he is not the cause of evil in this world and we should therefore not blame Him for it. Remember that God did not create evil, as some believe. God created the world perfect. Man chose to defy God and go his own way, and it is man's fault that evil entered the world. Even so, God has provided the ultimate triumph of good over evil in Jesus Christ, who on the cross, defeated Satan and those who follow him. Christ is coming back and when He does, all evil will be ended forever and righteousness and justice will prevail.

Have you ever thought about what would happen if God suddenly eliminated all the evil in this world? Not one person would be left, because we are all guilty of sin.

Because Jesus suffered and died for us, our suffering can be made like His -purposeful and meaningful. Evil, suffering and death came into the world when the first man and woman listened to Satan and committed the first sin. Evil was never part of the Garden of Eden. The moment Adam and Eve crossed the boundary of God's command, evil became the terrible reality of this world.

AW Tozer said, “The sovereign God wants to be loved for Himself and honored for Himself, but that is only part of what He wants. The other part is that He wants us to know that when we have Him we have everything—we have all the rest.”

Salvation: Jesus bore our sins upon the cross and died in our place so we could be reconciled to God and receive eternal life.

Service: Jesus said He “did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Christ’s supreme act of service was dying on the cross so we might have eternal life. Our Savior calls us to deny ourselves and follow Him through sacrificial service to others (Luke 9:23). As we embrace a lifestyle of humility and servanthood, we will bring glory to our heavenly Father.

Sacrifice: His first 30 years were spent in obscurity, without recognition of His Messiahship. During His public ministry, He faithfully carried out God’s plan all the way to His death on the cross. We admire Christ, who was “in very nature God” (Philippians 2:6 niv), chose to leave the perfection of heaven and live among sinful people. Laying aside His divine authority, He was born a helpless baby, completely dependent upon. Jesus’ days on earth are an example to us of the sacrificial life (Romans 12:1–2).

If we are to fulfill God's purpose for our life, we will become like Jesus. We will humble ourselves before God and say, "Not my will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42). When our purpose is to fulfill God's purpose, His will will be done. Paul had a similar thought in mind when he wrote to the Philippians, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5). He wanted the Philippians to be like Christ in a particular area of life: humility. When Christ entered the world, He humbled Himself by giving up any aspiration except that which was the Father's purpose for His life. He set aside His rights and prerogatives as the Son of God and humbled Himself, taking on the lifestyle and behavior of a servant. In that way, Christ fulfilled God's purpose for His life. His purpose was to know and carry out God's purpose for His life.

Blessings,

Raj Kosaraju