We all have a pre-existing condition. It’s called life. Life has challenges. It always has, and it always will, because we live in a broken world.
Now is not the time for delving deeply into theology, but a common question that comes up during times like the COVID-19 epidemic is, “How could a good God allow such evil?”
My question is, “How could he not?”
I actually have one of these. They aren’t quite like the real thing. (Photo by Toyloverz / CC BY-SA.
If God wanted to create a bunch of robots, he certainly could have. I certainly can’t see things from his perspective, but I suspect he would have found that about as satisfying as I find a mechanical dog. Real dogs satisfy so much more because they can respond. They can love you back.
Of course, real dogs can also pee on the carpet and chew up couch cushions. Robot dogs don’t do that. But I’ll bet most of you prefer real dogs, despite their downside.
We live in a broken world because we have peed on the carpet. We have chewed up the couch cushions. That’s why we have lots of things to fear.
I don’t mean fear the way the couch-destroying dog might fear the return of the homeowner.
I mean the fear that comes from knowing things have gone awry, and you don’t know what’s going to happen. Because we live in a broken world, things can always go wrong.
Yet hundreds of times the Bible says in some form, “Fear not.” Some say 366 times. I don’t know, but I know we find it often.
Jesus often said:
“Don’t be afraid.”
“Take courage.”
“Don’t be discouraged.”
“Fear not!”
There will always be a reason to fear if that’s what we tune to, because in this world there will always be an unknown.
So how do we avoid fear? If most fear is really fear of the unknown, the “fix” is to focus on what can be known.
I’m convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers or height or depth, or any other thing that is created. (Romans 8:38-39, CEB)
There may always be a reason to fear. But there’s always a better reason to fear not.
Peace.