Guest Post – By Paula Jackson
“Why?”, my friend asked…
It had been a tough year for her.
She wanted to know the “why’ behind the events of 12 difficult, painful months:
Why had her father died?
Why hadn’t he been a better father and husband when he was alive?
Why had she and her brother and sister started fighting while they were cleaning out his house?
Why did the anger linger months later?
She had many more “why questions”, but they all came down to these two:
“Why” does God give man free will?
“Why” does let terrible things happen?
I am not a theologian. But I’ve had the same questions in my life. Here’s how I answered my friend:
Why does God allow free Will?
Because God wanted a people who would love him, worship him and depend upon him. People get hung up on “free will.” Our natural tendency seems to be “I can take care of myself.” To a point we can take care of ourselves, but we have a heavenly father who knows we will make good choices and bad choices. The ultimate free will choice is Jesus, the only one who WILL take care of everything.
Why does God permit terrible Things?
God didn’t create the world to be imperfect. He created paradise in the Garden of Eden, but “free will” intervened and sin came into the world. Beautiful though this blue globe may be, earth is not our final destination. We will live according to God’s original plan, not in this world, but the next. By grace given freely through his son.
Psalm 36:5-7 “Your love is faithful, Lord, and even the clouds in the sky can depend upon you. Your decisions are always fair. They are firm like mountains, deep like the sea, and all people and animals are under your care. Your love is a treasure, and everyone finds shelter in the shadow of your wings.”
Paula Jackson, author of this guest post, is a mother, grandmother, online entrepreneur and author who seeks God daily. She serves the church where she is a member as a volunteer on the prayer team. As a matter of full disclosure, she is my wife and as she seeks God, she moves our entire family closer to Him.
