Ready, willing, and able

I saw this quote recently on Facebook. 

“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”

― Epicurus

Like everything, I over thought this one and came up with 3 things to say, because I can't pick just one. 

1. The first thought was at what cost? What are the consequences of making evil just disappear?
2. Then I realized that God HAS solved the problem of evil. IS solving the problem of evil. We're just not experiencing the full effects of it yet.
3. And finally I see that the questions themselves have an unspoken, underlying assumption - God should just snap His fingers and make evil disappear.

Things in common

In order to address Epicurus' questions, I considered the nature of evil. Evil is like darkness. Darkness is not a thing. Light is a thing. Darkness is our word for the absence of light. Evil is not a thing. Righteousness is a thing. Evil is the absence of righteousness. God doesn't prevent evil. God fills us with righteousness.

Evil comes from our will, our desire. We drive out God so that we can sit in His place. Like a shadow, we block light, making darkness. We block His righteousness, making evil. To "make evil disappear" means taking away our will. We are no longer us, like computers or machines that blindly follow what someone else builds them to do. Not by choice, but simply by nature. A very heavy price, indeed.

A different way

Instead, God made a way to re-enter our lives, to bring back the light. More importantly, His way only costs Him, not us. We remain who we are. We accept Him in His place. And the shadows disappear. Evil goes away because there is only righteousness.

No, that does not describe today. Darkness still exists today. Sometimes it seems like the shadows are deeper than the light is bright. He laid the groundwork, let everyone know what He's done, and our hope is that this time is coming.

Oh, snap!

The entire basis of Epicurus' questions was that God should act in the way we want, in the time we want. I don't want that. My perspective is much too limited. I can barely handle the small amount of reality that I perceive every day. Being responsible for all of time, over all of space, is unthinkable.

From my mortal viewpoint, limited to maybe 70 or 80 years, in this little dust ball in a cosmos so big we can't measure it yet, it sure looks like God takes His sweet time curing evil.

From His viewpoint, where the next TRILLION years is less than one second of one minute in one day of my life, He is snapping His fingers. This is all moving very fast. And the brief time that evil existed will be nothing more than a single digit of Pi plucked from the middle of this unrepeating, never ending decimal. Long forgotten and crowded out by the sheer volume of forever.

Willing. Able. And did it. Because He is God.

Fallen Trees

 Vania,

Remember we talked about the tree that fell down in the wind? How the roots spread out but not down? When the wind blew, there wasn't anything to hold the tree in the ground. So it fell over and died.

Relationships with people are like that, Vania. They need depth in order to stand. Do you also remember telling me you wanted a nap to get out of a bath? How that wasn't true - it was a lie? Lies are trees that grow tall, sprout leaves, and have no roots. Lies have no depth. When the wind comes, the relationship falls over and dies.

Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised. Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise. -- Proverbs 31:30-31

Vania, the best way to have a relationship with anyone is to have a strong relationship with Jesus. He is your root, your anchor. Those "deeds" the verse talks about? Those are the leaves of the tree. A tree rooted in Jesus stands no matter the wind. His root goes deep and spreads far. Don't worry about the leaves. They'll grow from the root.

Before you were born, there was a single rose bloom that kept sprouting up in our yard. I would mow it over week after week. It just kept coming back. Finally, I dug it up. This single stalk flower had a good 12 inch root that was huge. That's why the flower wouldn't die. I replanted that root and the rose continued to thrive.

When we focus on obeying Jesus, listening to His voice, He becomes our root. Jesus doesn't expect us to always know what's right. He expects us to listen. He'll tell us. We trust Him. He trusts us. And your relationship grows, like a huge tree. Rooted to the earth so deeply that the wind can't blow it over.

If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won't be honest with greater responsibilities. -- Luke 16:10

Trust always begins in the little things. Doing your chores without being asked. Reminding me that you need a bath. Each truth you tell to yourself builds your strength. One day, you will need that strength. One day, you will have to tell the truth when it isn't little, when it's hard. That moment is like the wind. I want your roots to be strong, deep.

I love you so much, Vania. Jesus loves you even more. I hope you always talk to Him. Thank Him when you're happy. Cry when you're angry.