Why We Need a Hero

A younger brother in the faith called me, hoping I could shed light on the topic of evil.  "Why was Satan allowed in Eden?  If Adam had perfect communion with God, why would God allow evil in the first place?  Wasn't the world created perfect, and if so, how could that include evil?"  And those were just a couple of the questions that gave us fodder for a great discussion with no solid conclusion.  Because the Bible doesn't give one.

Pondering the deeper questions of faith can feel like riding a twisty and terrifying roller coaster, spiritually throwing me through the unknown as I desperately remind myself of the goodness of God's character.





As we see evil unleashing in our world, we wrestle with big faith questions and we wonder why there isn't an exact answer.   For some questions, God doesn't give answers.  

He doesn't need to.  

God never owes us an answer or explanation.  Ever.

We storm Heaven's gates with demands, threats, bribery, and winey hysteria and many times our questions are justifiable.  We are in pain.  Confused.  Striken with grief.  Doubtful. Stumbling through each day in a fog, desperately seeking a strength beyond ourselves.

We get impatient with God.  We cry out to him at night and then resolve ourselves to a mediocre game plan in the morning.  We forget that God is rarely early but he's never late.  (I didn't make that up, btw.)

We demand answers and we like to blame him but we really don't want to hear what he has to say.

We're okay with blaming God but don't really want to give him a chance to show us some answers.   The solution may require us to give up a part of our heart - an area of unforgiveness (bitterness),  pride, anger, addiction, or selfishness.  We actually like our negative emotions even though they hurt our relationships.  They're like the blankets we drug around as toddlers that we refused to wash.  Clean blankets smell different.  Unfamiliar.  We prefer the dirt.

We don't really want to do the work of seeking answers.  It costs us pride to ask others for help in understanding life.  It costs money to seek professional counsel.  It costs us time to study and learn for ourselves.  If we can't find the answer in a thirty minute sermon on Sunday, then we assume that faith is useless.
 
We are turned off by people who claim to love God.  They're really flawed and REALLY human.  We forget that Jesus came for the sick, not the healthy.

At the end of the day, we really just want to provide our own answers - answers that will make us feel good, even if we know there will be consequences.  We can just blame those on God anyway.   We'll fully admit that our minds are broken and scarred by life's experiences, that we make mistakes, and that we are human and yet we trust ourselves more than we'll trust a God who is not constrained with time, not consumed with emotions, has an eternal perspective, isn't flawed, seeks our best and has a ridiculously awesome plan for every soul.

I strongly believe that God wants us to explore mind-bending questions of faith.  In fact, I think it's good to have our minds scrambled once in a while.  Otherwise we slip into the trap of making God small.

Containable.

Explainable.

Predictable.

Detached and angry.

.

When confronted with mind-bending questions, I start with God's character because it's true and unchanging.  He doesn't suffer from mood swings or hormones.  And he never has a bad day.

God is good.  Always good.  He can be nothing but good.

God said that creation was good.  In fact, on the close of the sixth day, God reflected on His work and said, "It is very good."   ("But wait?  What about the evil that broke creation?"  So glad you asked - we'll get there!)

God only operates out of the best.  And he's willing to make us uncomfortable to provide opportunities for us to rely on him and develop character, strength and faith.  This is what's best for us.

Jesus life on Earth wasn't a result of God needing a backup plan as a result of temptation, sin, Satan, or mankind's choices.  Jesus is Plan A.  He's always been Plan A.

When confronted with the prideful rebelliousness of Satan, God could've just snapped his fingers and destroyed him.  Poof!  Or God could've transformed him into a mosquito who's life would've ended with his next poorly-timed human encounter.  God is God so he could've.

But he didn't.

It's hard to imagine God granted Satan access to Eden.  Satan didn't sneak in when God was distracted or taking a nap.  There wasn't a single moment where God thought, "Good golly!  How did that sneaky little devil get in here?!?"  I'm willing to bet that a few angels stood baffled and agape as they witnessed Satan's dark little dance with creation.  Then they wielded their swords and waited for the battle cry.

Yet God didn't intervene.  He didn't protect Adam and Eve from deception and temptation.  He had already given them perfect provision and instruction.  They were thinking, contemplative, and willful.  Like us.  Given the capacity to choose right or wrong.

Good or evil.

Life or death.

Trusting God or trusting self.

For many years I deeply resented Eve for her obviously stupid choice.   I already planned our Heavenly encounter where I would pose the very mature question of, "What the heck were you thinking?!"  Then I'd wrap my hands around her neck and strangle her, just for a few minutes.  I'd ask God for forgiveness later.

Then I realized that I would've eaten the fruit too.  I constantly struggle with right and wrong even though God's blessings are extremely evident to me every day!  So I really can't blame Eve for strolling with God through Eden then giving into temptation just moments later.

So back to the original question:  if God is so awesome, mighty, and powerful, why would he allow evil?

Consider for a moment our affinity for super heroes.  Little boys want to be super heroes.  Big boys want to be super heroes.   And girls crave the rescuing of a superhero or perhaps want to be the hero themself!

We never get tired of hearing stories of heroes who conquer evil.  Hollywood clings to this. 

Humans crave the win -wrong made right.  We crave justice, peace, and love.  We crave intimacy and shelter.  We were created this way - in the image of God.  Ultimately, we crave God and will never be fully satisfied without Him.  We have God-size holes in our hearts that we stuff with other things.  They will only be satisfied with Him. And that's gospel truth.

There would be no grand love story if Satan were a squashed mosquito or his pride was snuffed out with a snap of God's fingers.  The end of the story would be anticlimactic and dull.

We need to see God-sized wins and we need to feel the satisfaction of a foe's loss.  We need a Hero to rescue us.  We need a Hero to follow.  We need a Hero who invites heroes to join him - join the winning side.  We are invited.  You and me.

Regardless of the big faith questions, I can rest in the truth that God is good.  He is perfect. He is loving, patient and never threatened by my doubt.  And regardless of how mind-scrambling our questions can be or how dark and sinister evil may appear, this truth stands:

God wins.

Recommended resource - a fantastic book on faith by a writer is who great at writing.  Trust me - there are lots of mediocre authors out there.  'Your God is Too Safe; Rediscovering the Wonder of a God You Can't Control', by Mark Buchanan.


Question:  Why is it so easy for us to blame God?