Isn’t that sometimes the first thing we ask when something tragic happens – “why?” It strikes me as amazing that we know things are not supposed to go that way. We expect things to go smoothly and good, even though that has probably not been our experience in life (especially if we’ve lived very long).
Even though we may never give God the time of day, we seem to have no trouble blaming God when things go wrong. But who’s really to blame?
I think it all starts back in the Garden of Eden. Whether you believe Adam and Eve were real specific people or not, the fact is, according to God, we were all made for relationship with Him. Then along comes “the deceiver”, Satan. What does he do?
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”
Genesis 3: 1-6
Temptation…
He convinces Adam and Eve that God is holding them back from their full potential. If they just go ahead and do what God said not to do, they would be like God. Of course, that was a lie, and still is. And Satan is still using the same line – and we are still falling for it!
Of course, acquiring the ability to know both good and evil (they did not have any knowledge of evil before this) did not give them the satisfaction they were hoping for. Instead, they learned about anger, jealousy, hatred, and greed. Murder was just around the corner. God had to send them out of Eden so they would not eat of the Tree of Life and live forever in that fallen state. They previously were able to eat of the Tree of Life and would not have experienced death if they had not eaten of the forbidden fruit.
With the introduction of evil into the world by Satan, the people, and indeed the world itself, was changed. Instead of becoming like God – they became more like Satan, constantly rebelling against God. That is our legacy.
Choices
So, you might ask, why did God put the “forbidden” tree in the garden? Well, what if you had a friend, and you found out that they were only your friend because someone paid them to be? Would they really be a friend? So, if Adam & Eve were in relationship with God because they had no choice, would they really love God? No one wants to have a relationship that isn’t mutual – even God.
But, back to Adam and Eve…if the tendency to rebel against God is part of human nature, and God allows people to make choices for themselves, then it stands to reason that we will all sometimes make bad choices. And some people will make really bad choices that will affect other people. If someone decides to run a red light, or drive under the influence of drink or drugs, and hits another car – it may well have catastrophic affects on someone else. That’s not caused by God, that’s caused by a bad choice.
Evil…
But, again you might ask, what about cancer, and other diseases? I certainly don’t have all the answers to life’s questions, but one thing the Bible tells us, is that it wasn’t just people that were changed – it was nature itself. After the “fall” of mankind, there were weeds (now you know who to blame when you’re sweating in the garden!), and since there was, from then on, evil in the world – then possibly diseases began to appear as well. I feel it’s pretty safe to say that disease and pestilence are both evil.
So, according to the Bible, all our troubles are due to the evil that has become part of the world and part of us because of our rebellion against God. Fortunately, God already had a plan ready so that would not be a permanent state. When he evicted Adam and Eve from the garden, he also cursed the serpent, Satan, with the following words:
“Cursed are you above all livestock
and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your seed and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
Genesis 3: 14-15
The Solution
This is an allusion to the virgin birth of the Messiah (the woman’s seed – not the man’s) and that the Messiah would be wounded by Satan, but Satan would be crushed by him.
God did not abandon us when we rebelled, and he still does not abandon us when we rebel. He gives us a way out – out from under the curse, and back into relationship with him. He does this through the Messiah, Jesus.