And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a base mind and to improper conduct
Rom1:28 (RSV)
A question many people ask is: “If God is a loving and all powerful God, why does He allow evil to exist? Can’t He just destroy all evil?” I’ve personally heard a lot of non-believers cite this when asked why they don’t believe in God.
The answer to this question is very simple, but might not be comprehensible at first glance. The apostle Paul alludes to it here and throughout Romans 1, and if we’re to understand it, we must have a clear understanding of the Father’s heart.
Turn to Luke 15 and here we find the Lord spinning the yarn of the parable of the prodigal son. There’s a father with two sons, and one decides to leave with his inheritance to a distant country. The analogy here is that man turns from God like this son, and the father waits eagerly for the son’s return.
This is the kind of heart the Father has for man. He allows the evil of separation to persist only to eagerly wait for the return of His children.
When the son in the parable returns, the father rejoices and calls all his servants to assemble a welcome for him. So although he gave him up to leave for the distant country, he rejoiced when he returned.
But we might ask: couldn’t the father have done something to stop his son? Use force or manipulation? If we turn to 1 John 4, we see that God is love, a god who loves perfectly. That’s why He would not use force or manipulation. To put it another way, if God was to use force or manipulation, then how can you see His perfect love?
Like the father of the prodigal son, God waits for all those who have turned away from Him. He does not destroy evil because of the trust He has that one day we will turn back to Him, like the prodigal son.
Reflection
Do you feel that the Father is showing you something you hadn’t seen before? Have you misunderstood something about His heart, or the heart of fathers generally?
Prayer
Dear Lord, I’m sorry that I’ve blamed the evil of this world on You. You refuse to compromise Your love for me by using force or manipulation, but You’re calling me with gentleness, urgency and patient suffering. I want to come home to You. Please bring me back to You. In Jesus name I prayed, Amen.