July- September
Did God create all things? Yes! Then God must have created evil. Right? Well, not exactly. However, the Bible does say, “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things” (Isaiah 45:7).
Let’s take a look at light and darkness, for instance. In reality, darkness is only the absence of light. Light can be studied, but not darkness. You cannot measure darkness. Light can be measured, identified, and broken down into different colors. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. So, darkness only exists when there is no light. Darkness in and of itself is not a thing or a substance that can be created. The only way to create darkness is to block out the light.
Jesus Christ according to the Bible has “immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see” (1 Timothy 6:16).
We could call this the perfect light. It is so full and intensely perfect that no darkness can exist in its presence. Can you imagine what would happen if an evil person got close to that kind of light?
Jesus brought that very light to earth, but He had to hide it. John 1:4 says “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” He revealed the light through His life. However, there was a conflict going on. “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19).
So evil cannot stand to be in the presence of this light. In fact, just as the light dispels darkness so would this light of goodness destroy all evil. God then allows darkness or evil to exist by veiling His glory. If He did not, all darkness and evil would be instantly wiped out.
“The Bible gives us hope that soon God will fix this evil world.”
We often struggle with trying to understand why God allows evil to exist. How can God allow young people to be shot and killed in school? How can He sit by while innocent people are blown up? However, if in fact God were to put an end to all evil at this moment, almost all of us would be destroyed in the process.
For years people have been demanding that God be removed from the government, the courts, and the schools. Why then would we be shocked if He did actually leave? So it seems we want the benefits of God’s protection against evil, but not the guidelines to keep us from being destroyed along with it.
When God looks down upon our darkened world He is looking for something. He looks “to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Psalm 14:2, 3). These are very depressing verses! God is looking for good (light) and He sees none. However, God does not leave us in darkness if we desire to have the light.
“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee” (Isaiah 60:1, 2).
This is a prophecy of the condition of the world in these last days, but with it is an assurance that if we look to the light we will dwell in the light.
Another prophecy of the last days is found in the book of 2 Timothy. “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:1–4).
The above seems like a perfect description of the generation in which we are living. It is a perilous time, especially for the youth. The only way that you can avoid the darkness of this world is to look to the light of God’s presence. In this way we can have hope when the whole world is on a path of self-destruction.
The Bible gives us hope that soon God will fix this evil world. “The wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered” (Proverbs 11:21). “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away. . . . And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:1, 4).