God permitted evil to enter His universe as the price of freedom. Although He could have created the universe without the potential for suffering or sin, such a universe would not have allowed free creatures to exist. It would have been a robotic universe, with no more awareness of grace or God's goodness than a colony of insects.
The Bible teaches that God became a human being and entered into the suffering of His creation. By experiencing and sharing His universe's suffering, He made redemption possible. He made it possible for all of the wrongs of the world to eventually be made right.
God's true nature is revealed in Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul declared:
In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form (Colossians 2:9).
In the natural universe, underlying reality appears at times to be good and at times to be evil. Only Jesus provides a clear definition of God's holy, loving nature.
Dan Vander Lugt
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