How Can There Be a God When There is So Much Evil?

I think we all struggle with this question. I know I did. Because face it, this world we live in is a very dark, evil place. We see innocent people slaughtered by ISIS, we see people die in car accidents, shootings, and robberies...and it's hard to imagine that there's a God somewhere above us. It really is. Most of us want to believe that there's a loving God, but we just can't see how there is one.

     Well, I'm here to tell you that there is a loving God, one who loves you so much it's unfathomable.

     First, though, we need to understand what evil is. "Evil" is often thought of as a thing, as a creature. And we say, "How can God allow Evil?" Evil is not a thing; evil is the absence of God. It's like a hole in a shirt. The hole is not a Thing, but it is the absence of a Thing. So it is, that when we reject God, we leave a void; that void is Evil.

     Free will. That's what lets us choose, let's us make a choice between God and evil. God is omnipotent, meaning He knows everything that's happened, is happening and will happen. If God knew what choice Eve would make in the Garden of Eden...why did He still give her free will?

     It almost sounds like God didn't care, almost wanted that to happen. But God gave us free will because He loved us so much. He wants to have a relationship with us, and He wants us to love Him. But what kind of love is it if you don't give someone a choice? Thus He gave us Freewill.

     We want God to remove evil, right? Like stop ISIS, stop natural disasters that kill thousands, or stop accidents. But how much evil should God remove? Where do you draw the line? If God took all evil out, there's no free will. And then there's no real love. Just robots called Humans.

     So God is not the cause of evil.

     And He really does love you.