No Stipulations

Why do bad things happen? Why is there so much evil in the world?

One night I was out with one of my best friends and somehow we got to talking about God, a topic that until then had been left untouched between the two of us. She knew I went to church pretty often, yet I didn't have an inkling of her religious background. I mentioned something in the support of God, following up with an affirmative statement that I did believe in God. She just kind of made a face and said "I don't know. I mean with all the bad things that happen..I just don't think so."

I remember talking with another friend walking home one evening and he confessed a similar statement. I said I was going to church in the morning, and then I asked if he believed in God. (He really seemed like a person who would believe in God. He was always so upbeat, and smiling, and just a generally all around good person; I couldn't see how he could not.) "No," he said. "There is just too much bad in the world. If God was real, why would bad things happen?" At the time I wasn't equipped to give an answer, or to spark a debate, so I fell silent and let it hang between us for a few strides and changed the subject.

These conversations resonated with me for months upon months, and even to this day it is hard for me not to feel regret over my lack of knowledge.

Fast forward to nine months later: A few weeks ago I was watching Joesph Prince and he was talking about the beginning of creation, more specifically, Adam and Eve. He spoke of the Tree of Knowledge. Most of us know the story: Adam and Eve were given the beautiful Garden of Eden and God told them they could eat of any tree in that garden, except for the Tree of Knowledge. Well naturally, they were then tempted, and then ate of the tree. Man's first sin.
     I'm watching this and I'm thinking, 'Well why did God put the tree there anyway??!' I mean right??Why not eliminate the whole problem, cut out the middle man, (a typical Generation Y reaction) and make EVERYTHING in the land good and delicious and pure to eat. Then there would be no evil because there would be no sin, right? Seemed like a great answer to me. However, then Mr. Prince went on to explain that God wanted to give man free choice. He did not want to be a controlling God, and he did warn Adam and Eve of the tree.

Probably about five days ago I was minding my own business, not even really thinking about God and thought of the sermon Joesph Prince gave and then thought of the conversations I had had with my two friends almost a year earlier. Something clicked and I thought, God gives us free choice. He's not going to force us to behave well (even though sometimes I wish he would). He wants us to, and he'll love us no matter what we do, but there are no stipulations involved. It is all up to us. I meditated on this for a while and realized how simple it all really was.