How do we reconcile evil in the world? This is a question I’ve received several times, and one I’ve asked myself. The direct answer is that we can’t. While we can account for human evil, natural evil (disease, disaster, famine, and death) throws the ledger completely off balance. We are always in the red, and there is always a deficit of good in the world.
But life isn’t a ledger, and there is no accounting for all the evil in the world. Even if there were, would it make things easier or more palatable? If I’m caught in the rain, knowing how and why it rains doesn’t make me any less wet.
Why does God allow terrible things to happen? Life would be easier and more straightforward if we didn’t believe in God. It would be far less frustrating if we believed that all of life was the result of chance, of billions of mutations over billions of years, and that there is no God nor any design. This would mean then that there is no love, that love is a series of chemical reactions in the brain that have allowed those who experience them to survive and thrive. I could go further with this idea, but I have neither the stomach nor heart for it.
It may be easier to believe in a world without God, but it is completely unfulfilling. For a long time I blamed God for all the evil in the world. I was mad at God, but as mad as I was, I never stopped believing. There were times that I doubted the goodness of God, but my love for Christ erased all of that. Essentially, I came to the realization that if Jesus can love God without reservation, then so can I.
How do we reconcile evil in the world? This is the wrong question. I don’t have the right question, but I have a better question: How do we find peace in an evil world? From where is our help to come? Our help is in the name of the Lord. We are not meant to rid the world of evil; that quest belongs to God. But we are instructed to shine our light in the darkness and to see the face of Christ in everyone we encounter. We are meant to ease one another’s burdens and trust that God will make all things new again.
I need to stop thinking about the world; it’s too big, abstract, and messy. My world: my home, neighborhood, and church offer ample opportunity to share the love and light of Christ. All of us can do this, with God’s help.
The Rev. Jason Shelby
Rector