replacing the "WHY?" with "WHO?"

"Why does God allow these evil things to happen?"

A canned question that pops up every time a disaster comes our way. I remember two or three people directly asked me that question after the typhoon ONDOY situation. Answering such questions will require a lot of explaining and deep theological immersion...something that a Phlegmatic person like me will seldom take on. Now, as typhoon SENDONG left Northern Mindanao in utter devastation, the question resurfaces. So I challenged myself to research and give an answer, not to those people asking this question, but to myself...I need to settle this question within. So far, this is what I have to say about it.

In the beginning, A self sustaining three-person Deity has existed...God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Full of compassion, love, absolute truth, perfect justice and impeccable righteousness they have decided to create, in their omniscience and omnipotence, creatures of light that will reflect their glory. These creatures are loved, and one of them are even favored and was called Son of the Morning. Along with the love that these creatures enjoyed was also freedom...but that freedom, untamed and all, was the reason for the fall of 1/3 of the angelic hosts...led by the Son of the Morning...who planned to ascend and overthrow the Sovereignty of God.

After such events, God did not stop loving. His character is still intact, and with all integrity, the Trinity decided to create another creature. This time, these creatures will be patterned from their essence and personality. These creatures will know how to love because they have been loved. Undaunted by what happened to their first creation, the freedom to choose was still installed. They were placed in a perfect environment with everything they needed and gave them one basic rule...that if broken, would change everything...and it did! The perfect environment that the first two humans enjoyed was taken from them...pain and suffering began. The concept of death began claiming every living thing. At this point, these creatures may have been overwhelmed by the sudden change brought about by their disobedience.

Now, the world continues to be cursed. We have inherited the curse of our forefathers. We ourselves are cursed...but despite our fallen nature...God made a way for us to exercise our freedom in a positive way and regain the relationship that was cut because of the decision that was made a long time ago. At this point you might think that I'm losing my argument on God being fair. Well...in reality, God's justice and righteousness is not up for debate. They are perfect whatever we say. With or without the consolidated opinions of His creation, He will never cease to have perfect justice and perfect righteousness.

Think about this...

When God created us, He was not obligated to do so...He was already self-sustaining. But still, He decided to create us...not on a whim but with a purpose...He even fashioned us according to His very own image. He loved us so much...and He wanted us to understand the concept of unconditional love...and to to do so, God gave us Free Will. With the freedom to choose, we also have the freedom to reject. God risked being rejected so that we would understand the extent of His love. But the rejection of God solicits painful consequences. So, when something bad happens, it's not God...rather it's the absence of God.

So when will God step in?

God will step in when we humbly acknowledge His presence. God is not a sadist who enjoys seeing us suffer...but because we are designed to have freedom of choice, God cannot just step in. We have to choose to seek Him out. But we have to remember that God is not a genie who will magically do what we want. By acknowledging God's sovereignty, you are willfully submitting to what God wants for us. Remember the perfect environment? That's God's initial plan...but no...our free will wanted something else! Same concept...you want God to protect you? then adhere to His rules!

I love what Proverbs 1:29-33 says...it basically points out that evil will come to those who do not choose God's ways. That protection may not come as something we expect...It's not like God sending angels as bodyguards...but it may be a form of protecting your emotions, your soul, your integrity...things that matter to Him!

In conclusion...when we understand the sovereignty of God and His plan...we can breathe easily, knowing that Romans 8:28 is true when it tells us that everything that will happen in our lives will work out for our benefit and God's glory with the premise that we don't just ask "Why is this happening?" but acquire a divine viewpoint on "Who is the Alpha and Omega who holds this world together?" and understand God's true essence.