“Why is there sickness, war, hate, and corruption? Why does evil flourish and injustice prevail in a world that God supposedly cares about? If He exists and cares, why does He seem so distant, hidden from all problems? He cannot be God because He has failed to maintain peace in the world.” This is the rationale of many who choose to disbelieve and oppose the concept of God—arguments often held by agnostics and atheists. But what does Scripture actually say about this? The entire chapter of Job revolves around conversations on this issue, and God’s final response sheds light on His sovereignty and magnificence, essentially saying, “You are too ignorant to understand My ways.” Parts of Ecclesiastes and Proverbs also touch on this theme. But let’s refocus on the foundation of the argument: that a leader ultimately takes responsibility for the failures of their subordinates. In a country where there is lawlessness and heartache among the citizenry, the first thought is often that this is due to the failure of leadership. So then, why can we not blame God for the failure of leadership when His world is in flames?
I tend to agree with such logic—it’s reasonable to blame the leadership in the case of failure. However, Scripture is clear about who the leader of this world is, and it is not God. In fact, the leader of this world is Satan, and it is because of this that the world is so full of violence, sickness, and injustice. But why would God create a world and give it to Satan? God never put Satan in charge; rather, Man did. God created the world and entrusted Adam with dominion over it, granting him authority over all creation and bestowing upon him His own glory (Psalm 8:4-8). Adam wasn’t merely appointed as a steward; he was made to rule, embodying a living, speaking spirit reflective of his Creator. Just as it is in God’s nature to rule, it was in man’s nature to do the same. This divine authority was delegated to Adam, establishing him as God’s representative on Earth. But he gave that authority over to Satan and we lost our place. We became puppets, allowing Satan to exercise authority on our behalf, and thus, we are ultimately to blame for all of the happenings in this world.
Some might ask, isn’t this the very reason Christ died? Yes, and it is for the sake of humanity’s restoration that His Kingdom was promised, is present, and will come in fullness. He promised this kingdom to Abraham, and several prophets, including Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Amos, continued to prophesy about it, culminating with John the Baptist(Luke 16:16). It is true that the Kingdom came in the form of Christ, and for this reason, He died and judged the ruler of the world, as noted in John 16:11. On the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished,” (John 19:30). But if so, where is this Kingdom? It does not seem to have come; death still reigns, and chaos continues to dominate the world. The leader of this world doesn’t seem to have been judged.
These are the realities for the children of darkness, who, though they have eyes, cannot see (Isaiah 6:10). As Scripture says in 2 Corinthians 4:4, the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, preventing them from seeing the light of the gospel of Christ. Nonetheless, Scripture also says that it pleased God to make things this way: “For since in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21).
The Kingdom is, in reality, Jesus, and those who receive Him have received the kingdom. He says the Kingdom isn’t going to come in the grand style they imagined; rather, it is already in their midst, according to Luke 17:21. Those who are given the Kingdom, who is Christ, have the privilege of finding refuge in Him, away from the harsh realities of this world (John 15:11). Like Noah’s ark, Christ is the refuge for His Kingdom dwellers here on earth. He says, “Remain in Me as I remain in you” (John 15:4). Unless we remain in Him, the flood will carry us away. But when we believe and remain in Him, we are not fazed by the wiles of the prince of this world because he had nothing in Christ, and if I am in Christ, he will find nothing in me (John 14:30).
So why this world? Why make us live here if there was a better place from the very beginning? God does everything to glorify Himself (Isaiah 48:11). We must remember that it was He who created darkness first and later brought in light(Isaiah 45:7) and found it to be good(Genesis 1:3-4). The concept is this: light would not be appreciated without the existence of darkness. Therefore, darkness needed to be so that light may be glorified. There ought to be a juxtaposition; if we are to truly appreciate God, we must witness what it’s like without Him in charge. When God created the world and put Man in charge, Satan came in to swoop that mandate through deception, making man willingly give his authority over to him. Today, Satan continues to rule the same way in the lives of many people—through deception, so that we willingly give our power over to him. As long as man continues to give up this right to Satan, there will be continued suffering. We must all individually give up our rights to the Lord in order to see His glory. Therefore, the intentional juxtaposition is between Man vs. God, or rather darkness vs. light. Who is better suited to rule?
In Romans 9:23, Paul says, “What if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the objects of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory?” Therefore, in His divine wisdom, God, willing to glorify Himself, deemed things so, that all may witness and not boast but give glory to Him.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Like refugees, we long for the establishment of His Kingdom, groaning with deep desire for its arrival (Hebrews 2:8). This longing compels us to embrace the great commission, spreading His light and gospel to those lost in the world, so they may be saved. The parable of the growing seed in Mark 4:26-29 hints at the timing of His Kingdom’s coming—He will not return until the full number of His elect has been gathered, with none lost (John 18:9). Our intense desire for His return drives us to urgently plant and water, trusting that God will bring the growth, so that enough fruit will be borne for Him to come and reap.
Rev 14:15 Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”
It is also thanksgiving for our receiving of this Kingdom that drives us to walk by faith in continuous gratitude, replicating to others the good He has done for us during our time of waiting for His coming. We are called to be spiritual people, so though the sickness, violence, and injustice of this world might prevail upon our flesh, they will not prevail over our spirit. They will not affect our resolve in our belief in Him because, having lived in Him, we died to the flesh. Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, was convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39). Our fear of God guides us and overcomes anything that might seem to threaten our flesh. This is wisdom because we know and believe that as spiritual beings, the spirit is more consequential according to Matthew 10:28, and that Satan has lost any hold on us spiritually. Therefore, we will remain in the ark no matter how rough the waves might get; we will not capsize, for the Ark, who is Christ, has conquered the world.
“In the world, you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
The receipt of the Kingdom is a life-and-death matter; it can drive anxiety and overexertion, but in Luke 12:32, Jesus assures us that it pleased the Father to give us the Kingdom. It truly pleased Him, and He found it very good to give us His only begotten Son so that we may find rest in Him (Genesis 1:31).
So, no, God is not to blame, for in Christ, He wants to give us a foretaste of what His Kingdom looks like here on earth(Matthew 6:10). Therefore, it is crucial that we understand this world will not get any better and that, having received Christ, we are no longer of this world but of His Kingdom, which will be established and will overtake this current one. In that world, there will be no more crying, sickness, or wars(Revelations 21:4), and we will be co-rulers with Christ(Romans 8:17). Let us look to that Kingdom (Christ) regardless of what happens in this world so that we may have hope and remain in faith.