Some questions are not born out of curiosity, but out of pain. And this is one of them: if God is good, if God is just, if God has power over all things… why does He allow so much evil in the world?
This is not a small question. It is asked by a mother who lost her child. It is asked by a person who was betrayed. It is asked by those who see wars, abuse, injustice, sickness, violence, and corruption. Sometimes we look at the world and feel as if evil is shouting too loudly, while God seems to remain silent.
But God’s silence does not mean He is absent. And the fact that God allows something does not mean He approves of it.
From the beginning, the Bible shows us that God created a good world. He did not create human beings like machines forced to obey, but as creatures with a will, capable of loving, choosing, and responding. And that is one deep part of the matter: true love cannot exist without freedom. If God had created beings unable to choose, He would also have created beings unable to truly love.
The problem is that this freedom was used to turn away from God. Sin entered the world, and with it came selfishness, violence, death, lies, and injustice. Not all suffering comes directly from a personal decision, but we do live in a world broken by sin.
Sometimes we ask, “Why doesn’t God stop the evil person?” But if God immediately stopped all evil, He would also have to begin with the evil hidden inside our own hearts: pride, envy, lies, indifference, resentment, and lack of love. Evil hurts us when we see it outside of us, but it is harder to recognize it when it is inside us.
That does not mean everything is the same, nor that all people are evil in the same way. There are terrible acts, deep injustices, and wounds that cry out to heaven. God is not indifferent to that. The Bible says He loves justice and that one day He will judge everything with truth. No one will mock God forever. No tear will be forgotten. No injustice will remain unanswered.
But until that day comes, God is also working in ways we often do not understand. He does not always remove pain immediately, but He can enter into the middle of that pain. He does not always prevent the trial, but He can sustain the one who is being broken. He does not always answer the way we would like, but He never stops being God.
The greatest proof that God is not indifferent to suffering is found in Jesus Christ. God did not look at human pain from far away. He entered our story. Jesus suffered rejection, injustice, betrayal, beatings, humiliation, and death. On the cross, the Son of God carried the weight of human sin. There we see that God does not ignore evil: He confronted it in the deepest way, giving His own Son to open the way for forgiveness, life, and hope.
So even when we do not always understand why God allows certain things, we can know this: God has not lost control. Evil will not have the final word. Darkness may seem strong, but it is not eternal.
Meanwhile, our task is not to justify evil or get used to it. Our task is to be light where there is darkness, comfort where there is pain, justice where there is abuse, truth where there are lies, and love where many have only known hardness.
I leave you with this final reflection so you can meditate on it calmly: maybe the question is not only, “Why does God allow evil?” Maybe we should also ask ourselves, “What does God want to form in me while I live in a wounded world?” Because while we wait for God’s final justice, He calls us not to add more darkness, but to reflect the light of Christ through the way we live, speak, forgive, and love.
We Are Christians, connecting hearts with Christ.
