Dear Wesleyan Community,
How often do you ask yourself why do awful things happen to the best people? This question arises when we lose a loved one or hear of a school shooting, and we wonder what people have done to deserve this adversity, and why God wouldn’t intervene in these times of wretchedness. In reality, no one deserves to feel the hand of evil. Because God was so loving as to give us a choice between good and evil, even morally righteous people feel evil’s wrath from the hands of those who chose it. In order to be able to choose Him and choose good, we must have an alternate choice. We wouldn’t be free, as God intended, if we weren’t given the choice between good and evil. Without being free to choose God, and to live in a world of only purity and joy, there would be no distinction between Heaven and Earth. I believe, while evil and suffering breaks the hearts of God’s people, being given a choice between God and evil has given mankind a purpose. Those who choose evil live to break down the minds and souls of the people who devote their life to following and spreading the word of God, and avenging evil to restore justice to those who have fallen innocently under the hand of malice. Evil has shaped society, mankind and every individual life in such a profound way that, because our hearts know the contrast between God’s light and evil’s dark fist, that we as Christians have become accustomed to welcoming God’s light into darkness.
Additionally, being given a choice has formed religion in its entirety. Without a choice, everyone would’ve been forced to follow God and believe in God; there would be no such thing as “religious beliefs.” Everyone chooses religion, so if it had been a forced commandment, there would be no moral love and respect for God, nor would there be a distinction from God’s perfect love and our love. People wouldn’t value and strive for a relationship with God, because it would be a given. I believe if following him was forced, and evil didn’t exist, that people would feel empty, as if they had no greater purpose to work for in the long run. People live to find their purpose. If they’ve been predestined and didn’t have to work to be a moral person because there was no such thing as evil, society would have never been formed, and people would have found no greater purpose. There would be no word of God to spread because everyone was born aware of it, and there would be no appreciation for the miraculous works of God because perfection would be an expectation. Evil, in all honesty, has played a major role in forming society, and without it, the Kingdom of Heaven and God’s people would never exist.
Sincerely,
Sunny Jones, Co-Editor-In-Chief
