Why do bad things happen to good people? It just doesn’t seem right, does it? How can a loving God tolerate evil? How can he sit by and watch the suffering of innocent people, children even? I see this in the hospital all the time. Children waiting for radiation or being pushed in wheel chairs, tubes stuck in their tiny bodies. I’ve tried to live my life as a moral person and believe that Jesus is the Messiah, so how come I get cancer when a murderer doesn’t? Does he not deserve it more? Why do my innocent daughters have to suffer from their daddy’s sickness?
These are age-old questions that cannot be thoroughly addressed in a 700-word blog post. For centuries, philosophers have debated the paradox of a loving God who tolerates evil. I’m not going to solve the argument here. Still, the Word is not silent about this. I’m writing this as much to develop a better understanding of this dilemma for myself as to share my thoughts with the reader.First, who are we to say who is “good” and who deserves to suffer? “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). We all need a Savior and are only justified by God’s grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ (v. 24). To suggest that “we get what we deserve” or “what goes around comes around” is closer to the Buddhist doctrine of karma than it is the core of Christianity, God’s saving grace.1
Evil has existed since Adam chose to disobey God in the Garden. That’s right, Adam had a choice. We were created to love God, who first loved us. But for love to be true then it has to be a choice. Forced love is no love at all; it’s merely a “conditioned response.”2 Consider this: I do not want my daughters to love me because of what I give them. I don’t want them to love me in order to avoid punishment or gain my favor and get nice Christmas presents. This confuses the gift with the giver and replaces unconditional love with self-benefit. Instead, I want them to love me because of who I am and because I love them unconditionally. God gives us the choice to love him or not, which makes our love real.
When there is the freedom of choice, some will elect to the contrary and choose evil over good. That is the necessary price of this freedom. God allows evil, but He doesn’t create it and it’s certainly not His will. Our choices have consequences and evil may result, but every bad thing that happens to people is not a product of their sin. In the book of John, Jesus’ disciples asked him about the blind man: who sinned, him or his parents? The answer:
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” (John 9:3)
So maybe that’s it. Maybe this explains why I have cancer. Maybe it explains why bad things happen to good people. So the works of God might be displayed. So that He may be known. So that others can see His incredible love. Nothing in my journey has went as expected. Since returning to Texas five days ago, I’ve completed three radiation treatments to address the disease in my central nervous system that won’t go away. I was unexpectedly disqualified from the clinical trial, as it does not allow patients to undergo radiation, and started a different chemotherapy drug yesterday. Maybe at each turn others can see the hand of God and derive hope for their own lives.
Rational justifications for suffering don’t ease the emotional and physical pain, but they can help us see past the pain to a Comforter, the Source of love and healing. God can bring good from evil like no one else can. I heard Rick Warren say that God “turns crucifixions into resurrections.” He took what the enemy thought was his victory and turned it into his ultimate defeat. He does the same thing in our lives. This knowledge doesn’t make suffering any easier, but it can make it worth it.
1. Zacharias, R. (2000). Jesus Among Other Gods: The Absolute Claims of the Christian Message (p.117). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
2. Page 121.