"My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" (Psalm 22:1)

                        
Vindicating God’s existence logically, as important as this is, does not satisfy our rage when we consider the extermination of millions of Jews, the rape of a teenage tsunami victim, or the loss of a son or daughter to the recklessness of a drunken driver. Our rage is the natural human cry for justice. This rage only makes sense, however, if God exists. Otherwise, why would it matter to us?
 
Our anger affirms our intuitive sense that there really is absolute goodness since we see evil in terms of this standard. Things are not the way they are supposed to be, and our plea for justice affirms this innate moral sense and our fundamental humanness as persons created in the Image of God. It exposes our natural hunger for that which is pure and righteous, notions that only make sense in a universe created, preserved, and adjudicated by an infinitely good and powerful God. If this is not the case, then what hope is there for justice to prevail? For in a godless universe, no good deed looks forward to an ultimate reward, and even the most heinous evil will go ultimately unpunished. As philosopher William Lane Craig asserts, “Without God, the world is Auschwitz.”

The created order and our moral intuition bear witness to the existence of God, but the Bible reveals the fullness of his goodness toward morally deficient men and women. For in our unguarded moments of candid introspection, we find that this evil against which we rage is resident within our own hearts. The Scriptures tell us that “none is righteous, not one" (Romans 3:10 ESV). The scriptural words first trouble us, but then stagger us. Reflection on our own condition reveals inclinations of which we dare not speak and which we often deny.

 
“None is righteous, not one.” The words smite us again as we understand that each of us is guilty and subject to the justice of the Moral Lawgiver and Ruler of the universe. How shall we elude his holy wrath against our secret self-centered indifference toward him and those around us in need? Although we may reason away the degree of our depravity when compared with sexual sociopaths and political barbarians, we yet realize that there is no justification for our own lack of love or subtle acts of cruelty that never hit the headlines. How shall we escape his righteous judgment? Thank God for the Lord Jesus Christ!

The greatest good of all came in the Incarnation of the Son of God, and the good of the Incarnation compensates for all evil. Philosopher Alvin Plantinga argues that the Incarnation of God makes this world with its resident evil preferable to any other world where evil is absent, for it is the Incarnation that has actualized the deepest hopes and longings of men and women for goodness, mercy, forgiveness, righteousness, and justice. It was God in the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity who, through his perfect life and sacrificial death, opened the way to the eternal world of ultimate goodness for which our souls crave. 

God in the flesh suffered the most egregious evil in history on the cross, bearing our eternal punishment, and giving eternal purpose to our suffering and pain in this life. You see, God is not finished. He has yet to complete his masterpiece. God is able and willing to infuse his creation with justice, righteousness, and peace, and he has promised that he will. Further, he offers each of us an eternity in his presence in a future world free of evil, suffering, and pain made possible by the undeserved evil, suffering, and pain his Son endured on the cross on our behalf. Not desiring that any man or woman should perish without him, God patiently waits for us to freely choose his offer. (For an article on the topic of natural evil, see "Hurricanes, Horrible Accidents, and the Heart of God").

"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit" (Psalm 34:18 ESV).

"Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning" (Psalm 30: 4-5 ESV).

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Blessings,

Arnie Gentile               

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