If God is real, why is there evil?

“ If God is real, then why does He allow so much evil?” 

This morning while reading through Jeremiah 5, 22-24, I was profoundly intrigued. “I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail; though they roar, they cannot pass over it. But these people have a stubborn and rebellious heart; they have turned aside and gone away.” 

I was thinking about the sand and the sea and the nature of its elements. Sand in and of itself does not seem very powerful. It’s small, somewhat fine, and easily shoveled by my two-year-old. Yet its design is strong enough to be a barrier to the sea. The sea, vast and forceful, most powerful, can tear apart, rise above, and swallow anything in its path. Yet, it is stopped by the sand. 

What fascinates me more is God created human life to have more power than the sea. Our boundary is the Bible. It is filled with all the ways to love God, ourselves, and others. His commandments are in place to protect us. His great love provides free will. He hopes that we will love and surrender to Him, but it is not forced. The boundaries are put into place to provide joy-filled, fruitful lives of harmony and peace. A world filled with delight in God as He delights in us. Rather, man has chosen to walk over His boundaries. To kill, lie, and hurt others. Man has stubbornly chosen the ways of evil and blamed God for it. The result brings great devastation to our lives. 

God in His love for those HE created, designed a sovereign eternal plan. Knowing the difficulty it would be to remain sinless in a world run by the devil, He gave us the gift of life through the death of Himself, Jesus incarnate. That whoever calls on the name of Jesus will be saved. Saved means we choose Him, our Creator. The sovereignty is the knowledge, faith, and hope, that beyond this painful world, is a home in Heaven. A place just as God created life to be with Him. A place of  joy, peace, and love, void of all this sadness and pain. Life in a world where free will remains, rejecting the boundaries to keep us safe, is evil and pain. He desires to redeem you from your pain. It was never His design for evil to run rampant in your life. While we remain in a broken world, His love is available to all. With eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to receive, we can witness the love of God every day.