Why Does God Allow Evil, Part 3: The Path to Knowing and Enjoying God Maximally

I think it's safe to say that when Scott and I got married, we barely knew each other. We had spent many hours talking and emailing, but it was only in going through life together that I really came to know him. For example, it wasn't until I saw him wronged that I understood his commitment to forgiveness. It wasn't until I became really sick that I came to know his compassion. And it was only because of my dark night of the soul that I came to know, as I had never known before, how much he loves me and how committed he is to my good. As a result, I know and enjoy my husband more now than ever before. I sing his praises more now than ever before. I glorify him1 as a result of seeing all of his attributes, and especially those only seen in the hardest, darkest times.

If we had only been through easy times together, I wouldn't know Scott's greatest attributes, or trust and enjoy him the way I do now. And the same is true of God. In part 2 we said that God created us to glorify Him by enjoying Him forever, but we can't enjoy that which we don't know. We come to know and enjoy God most when His full character is on display, and that only happens in a world of beauty and goodness as well as sin and suffering.2

We come to know God's creativity, power, beauty, and intelligence by observing and studying the magnificent creation in which we live. We come to know His holiness through the Levitical laws, and His justice through His punishments for violating them. We come to know His authority and authenticity through Jesus' life, His sacrificial love through Jesus' death, and His magnificent power through Jesus' resurrection. We come to know His righteousness when our eyes are opened to the depth of our own sin, and His grace and mercy through His provision for forgiveness. We come to know His patience through His response to the sin of others, and we come to know His compassion and comfort through our own times of suffering and need.

God doesn't cause us to sin, but by allowing us to do the evil that we want to do, He enables us to see His goodness, His grace, and His glory! He puts His full character on display so that we may come to know and enjoy Him maximally, thus glorifying Him throughout the earth and for all eternity. Look again at the previous paragraph and think about how much of God's character we are only able to know as a result of sin and evil in the world. We can know some of His attributes apart from sin, but our eternal happiness depends on knowing the fullness of God's glory. We simply would never know how great our God is or experience fullness of joy in Him apart of having lived in a world marred by sin.

The Bible reveals that God does restrain evil.3 He sets limits for the devil and He prevents at least some human evil (maybe a whole lot of it!). We don't know how horrific this world would be apart from God's intervention, but we do know that since God's objectives are never thwarted, the evil that He allows has a good and significant purpose. Therefore, in the midst of all evil and suffering we have reason to hope, to be thankful, and to persevere.4

Furthermore, no matter how difficult things become in this temporary life, it will come to an end. For those who trust in the Lord, every tear will be wiped away, every pain will be healed, every lost hour will be redeemed, and we will rejoice in all that God has done for all eternity.5

As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all."6 Therefore, we can have hope in our suffering. We can have joy in our persecution. And we can say with the apostle Paul, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."7

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[1] As a man, not as God; we glorify other people appropriately when we recognize their God-glorifying attributes, but even those come from God

[2] Ephesians 2:4-9, esp. v. 7; Romans 9:22-23

[3] Job 1:12; Genesis 20:6

[4] Romans 5:3-5; James 1:2-4

[5] Revelation 7:17; Revelation 21:4; Joel 2:25; see also Revelation 4 and 22

[6] 2 Corinthians 4:17

[7] Romans 8:18