This week I am on the road, but I would like to explore in (5) relatively short pieces an issue that never seems to expire, namely, the problem of evil.

Below are a few ways you may’ve heard the problem expressed:

• There’s so much evil in the world. How could a good God permit this?
• If God were omnipotent and good, he would prevent evil. But evil is seemingly everywhere. Therefore, God is either not all powerful or he is not all good. Either way, God loses. And so do we.
• I can’t believe in the God of the Bible because, well, just look at all the horrible things God commanded–the destruction of the Amalekites, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the stoning of homosexuals, etc. That’s not loving. And we know God is love.
• The God you Christians speak of is selfish. He wants us to believe he’s the only way. How narrow-minded. If God were good, he’d allow us to be free to worship and/or not worship him. He’s an insecure, needy God, and I cannot believe in that.

The list could go on and on.

First: Let me show my cards up front. I, too, have wrestled deeply with questions of theodicy. The problem of evil is never far beneath the surface in any serious conversation about our lives. If we are honest with one another, we all recognize that our world is a mess. We have broken families, we have broken marriages, we have broken vows, we have wars and rumors of wars, we have cancer and Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s in our families or in families of those we know and love, etc. We know of abused children, battered spouses, drug-addled homeless, the poor and destitute, the persecuted believers across the earth, etc. This list could go on and on. It’s quite natural that the problem of evil will arise in any serious-minded conversation. So, right out of the gate, let’s acknowledge that the world is a mess. To use biblical language, the world is fallen.

Second: Before I follow this first installment with responses to the questions raised above, let me also say this: Christians should be the most welcoming audience of serious people with serious questions. Life is full of pain, so cant and snarky dismissals of legitimate queries are both unkind and unhelpful. When folks have sincere questions, Christians should welcome those questions and aim to give grace-filled biblical responses.

Third: My favorite book of all time remains Ecclesiastes, and so my responses are not my own. They come from Scripture. Primarily they come from the books of Job and Ecclesiastes. The last two books I pull from are Psalms and Genesis. I pull from other places (as seen below) but this is just a preview of coming attractions.

Lastly (for today at least), just one final thought to keep in mind as I try to address these concerns. It comes from the masterful book of Isaiah, written by the prophet of the same name in the 700s and 600s B.C.:

Woe to those who call evil good

 and good evil,

who put darkness for light

 and light for darkness,

who put bitter for sweet

 and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20)

There is more wisdom in that one verse than most will ever acknowledge in this lifetime. But it will one day be acknowledged by us all. I just submit it to you as something to think on as I write this first of what I think will be just five short pieces. Be encouraged, dear reader. Evil does exist; it is very real; but so is the one and only God who uses it and triumphs over it. But I am getting ahead of myself. Stand by for part two tomorrow.