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Did God Make a Mess of Things?
Written by Peter Youngren on November 10, 2009Article for St Catharines Standard newspaper by Peter Youngren.
“Look at the mess the world is in. If there is a God of love he sure didn’t do a very good job”, is a frequent comment. Believers may respond, “Well God gave us a free will, we make our own choices”, and from there the discussion goes back and forth. Consider for a moment, what the world and we, the humans, who inhabit this planet, might be like if we were created without the ability to cause harm, evil and destruction. Who would we be? Would such a world even be possible? Are there limits to the power of an Omnipotent God?
Even God can only do that which is logically possible. The Almighty could not create rectangular circles, make two parallel lines meet, cause one plus one to equal three, or make a person whole-heartedly receive Christ’s salvation against his own will. What if God had created a world where the human family would not have regressed into a fallen state?
Imagine a world without human potential to cause harm, hurt, to feel hatred, or to cause war or devastation. This would by necessity also be a world without courage or love, and no one would ever need to overcome personal obstacles. There would be no comeback stories, no accounts of people, who conquered in spite of incredible odds, since no one would have ever experienced any setbacks or hurts. This state of “bliss” would remove the need for humility and forgiveness, either received or given, because we would not have the ability to make any mistakes in our relationship with fellow humans. Or at least our mistakes would not hurt others.
There would be no Terry Fox, because there would be no cancer, no Mother Theresa, because the slums of Calcutta would not exist, no Nelson Mandela, because the very idea of separation of the races would never have entered into the human mind. No one would need to lend a helping hand to his neighbor, because no needy neighbor would exist. If God had created a world the evil was not an option, who would we be? It’s hard to answer these and a thousand other follow up questions that could be asked, because we can only think in terms of who we are in the flawed world in which we now live. It hurts our brain to try to think of a world where only bliss and perfection is possible. It would be a world without love, since no one would need to love or be loved – it would all have been pre-arranged.
God could have easily eliminated all pain and suffering, by simply removing our five senses. But what would we be like without those? What about a universe where we would never meet anyone else? That would do it. If the potential for human relationship was removed, we could never harm or be harmed by anyone. Who would we be in such a world?
Could it be that God actually created the most awesome world logically possible, full of His glory, full of positive hope and redemption? Though we start with a fallen imperfect condition where humans have an inherited propensity towards sin, our loving God, who always looks out for the best for His creation, has provided a remedy. God’s plan of redemption puts away the sins of fallen mankind and creates the possibility for everyone to receive new life through the redeemer Jesus Christ.
It makes sense that the potential for both good and evil must exist, especially as none of us would be willing to give up even five percent of our freedom to choose. Since our inherited propensity is to make wrong choices, God’s plan of redemption becomes a sign of a truly loving God.
anthony
~ Nigeria
all these odds happen, when the question is asked, “how would it look like when God forgets who he is”. well He became man, so that man can become him. therefore, Man is God asleep, God is man Awake!!!
Thank you.
Bonny Vanmeekeren
~ Tillsonburg, Ontario
I believe God! I love Him and given my life to Him!
I want to do things His way because its the way that is right!
I am a doer of the Word, believing manifestations of His Word in and for my life—because I represent Him, reflect Him, and I am a witness of who He is in me.
I’ve turned my face towards the wall; I’ve pleaded my case and I’ve humbled myself to the awesome Almighty!
I am only worth in Him. I can only boast in Him!
I’m waiting for God to Bless me so I can show Him for Who He is! I want people come up to me and say “She is blessed of the LORD, it is great to see” instead of people coming up to me “Why are terrible things always happening to you; where is this great God of yours who supplies all your needs?”
Marios Pontos
~ Cyprus
Then heaven is not a good place for us to be.
pv
~ niagara falls
After nearly 2000 years of the Gospel being applied to include the rest of humanity and all creation in salvation through Christ Jesus it is hard to read a scholar omit the full glory of the complete Biblical record as it comes into fruition these days through the Body of Christ and God’s Word bearing fruit. As the incorruptibles take on the corruptibles in peace and the spiritual realm becomes more visible in the world mortal flesh is silenced and we have a time of heairing the clanging cymbals of the disobedient as they abuse our flesh and are given sight of the Light of the World, no matter how spiteful their activities appear they are breaking blisters seeking healing or death, the second death. A teacher of the Gospel should focus more on sustaining the willing spirits who awaken in the Body of Christ with a willingness to serve Almighty God and fortifying them in the knowledge of the presence of Amighty God and Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit in this world, in all flesh.
Gigi Hagey
~ Toronto
Dear Pastor Peter! Why of course God did not make the mess we did! Your article is a little academic and a little worldly (to appeal no doubt to the unsaved)We are living in earthly vessels and it is good of Our Heavenly Father to send us examples of compassion and courage along the way. However, Jesus “the word made flesh” was and is the only perfect one. I agree with every point you have discussed but find the phrasing"Since our inherited propensity is to make wrong choices ” a little prosaic or too rational! To make myself clear, I mean it seems to take the purity or sincerity of repentance a little
for granted. It may be true that we tend to err the way our ancestors did but I believe that I must stand before God for my own choices and claim the
the blood of Jesus as a sacrifice for my own sins. We need more true love for our fellow travelers on this planet and more comprehension of our own
mistakes and less judgment of others. May Christ arise in each believer so we are more repentant and less judgmental.
Rose Beaulieu
~ New Brunswick
I have read your say on whether or not God made a mess of our world, and read some of the comments of the observers. I agree with and don’t agree with some of what has been said. My view of the matter, “Did God make a mess of the world?”: We must simply remember who created the world. It is the human being with the help of the animals, plants, and anything that has life. Life can build or distroy. Some of us choose to do the wrong things in life, and some choose to do the right things. When we mess up, we need someone to blame. And, grant you, there is someone to blame at the base of all of our mistakes. Even, yes even our very great creator. Things often happen as God himself plans it to happen. He allows for things to happen, and He is who permits whatever we get out of life. Such as the good and the bad; Misfortunes or not. No matter what happens, we have to accept it. We are not to be angry or hate God for it. Same as we are not to hate our parents whom are often at the base of our future’s misfortunate life. We either get to fix what is broken, or we make it worst. If blessed we make our life go better. If cursed, we must beg of God to put an end to the curse. As well, we must forgive whoever has laid the curse, which is even better if we know who did lay the curse. Evil wishes and such. The power of evil is every bit as alive as the power of the good. It is why we must at all times be ready for whatever comes at us. We have got to be ready to fight back, and I for one, prefer to fight back with the strongest power that lives…GOD! Blame Him as you may, He was, is, and always will be the boss, master, KING, Leader, and most powerful GOD. If you get to know Him, you will appreciate what He is all about and why He does what He does, or not do…. Rose Beaulieu in New Brunswick.
angel4u
Well God made us perfect and to live in a perfect world!! The way the world is now is not the way God made it in the beginning Satan and sin caused the way the world is now and mans pride and arrogance to think they know it all when God is the only one that knows everything.
And I cannot wait to have my perfect body and perfect life back I can do without the evil and sin and I will never be happy living in a world full of evil and sin ever!!!!
duffy
~ cambodia
today, everybody is a theologian
IC
~ Toronto
I am sad to read that God is bound by logical rules. To my limited mind, our mighty God who creates so many universes for His pleasure is a supernatural God. He is not bound by anything at all! Because we are living in a physical body confined in a 3-dimensioned time-space existence and cannot grasp the infinite aspects of God - does not mean that He is constrained by the same laws.
God is all good, and to say evil or pain is necessary to show forth the existence of good, is similar to the Ying-Yang philosophy of duality. Doesn’t that make satan an accomplice of God rather than God’s enemy?
silas kakai
~ kenya
iam a born again christian and i fellowship with Soul Restoration Ministries International.I"m happy to be connected with Peter Youngen because I"m learning alot from Him.Actualy God did not creat the world the way it is now, human being
has tormented it in big degree.God is not happy at the way the world is right now, we need to pray and ask Him for forgiveness.those are my few comments but I’m steel learning.God bless you.
Brenda
~ Halifax, N.S.
If it wasn’t for the mistakes and trials that I have gone through in my life I would never have become the person I am today.
God uses our mistakes to bring us to a point in our lives where we can say God is so good, he forgives all of our mistakes and can change our lives completely for his glory because he loves us so much.
david
~ Madurai, India
A teacher of the Gospel should focus on sustaining the willing spirits who awaken in the Body of Christ with a willingness to serve Almighty God and fortifying them in the knowledge of the presence of Amighty God and Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit in this world, in all flesh.
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Comments:
PVT
So God can only do what is ‘logically’ possible? I hate to say it but I disagree. Our definition of ‘logic’ cannot even apply to an omnipotent God who’s existance is far beyond our finite minds to even begin to grasp. Any use of creature terms to try to describe Him can only fall pitifully short and will be proven wholly inadequate when the day comes that we see Him as He is. Besides, who’s to say that what we understand as ‘logical’ in our current perception of reality (physical) is accurate in another perception of reality (spiritual)?
Regarding the issue of why mankind fell into sin. Sure, on the surface it looks like God somehow messed things up but if we look into it a bit deeper I think things actually HAD to happen this way. It’s because of love and the fact that love, without action, is not really love at all. God is love and His perfect love needed the ultimate expression. You see, the best a man can do is lay down his life for a friend but while we were yet His enemies God gave his life for us. What better way for an inconcievable, omnipotent, all knowing God to express His love than for him subject Himself to humiliation and ultimately lay down His own life for feable, limited mankind? He had nothing to gain by it - His love just needed to be expressed.