There’s probably not a single one of us that hasn’t wrestled with the question of why God would allow evil things to happen. Personally, I think it’s the most difficult question ever asked. Many have even left the faith because of it. In 2004, when a devastating tsunami in Sri Lanka killed over 220,000 people, unbelievers around the world shouted in deafening unison: “Where was God?” It’s one thing to say we trust God’s goodness, but let’s face it, it’s another thing entirely to still trust it when suffering dominates.
Yet even still, miraculously, we are not left with despair. Evil is not the end; suffering is not our final fate. In some way that is yet beyond our comprehension, there is resurrection in Christ Jesus. This world which tends toward death and decay will somehow be restored to perfect, beautiful, eternal life. When death surrounds us but we say we still have Jesus, those words are not empty, and that hope is not futile. We have Jesus, and he really is all we need—because what we need is the mysterious, impossible miracle of resurrection.
We all know the story of Martha’s brother Lazarus. After Jesus assures her, he walks up to the tomb and with an authoritative word calls the dead, rotting man back to life. Jesus told the grieving woman that in him there is life, and then he proved it. Imagine the astonishment! Imagine the celebration! Imagine how much greater their joy was than it would have been had Lazarus never died in the first place! Maybe that’s why Jesus waited back and let his own friend die. Jesus let an evil thing happen so that he could resurrect it, utterly undoing the suffering and turning it into glory, and draw more people into himself. And maybe Jesus is still doing that. This world is dead, and God waits, but he has promised us resurrection beyond what we can imagine. I don’t know what that will look like, but I know this: our joy and glory will be greater than they would have been if evil never existed. Imagine the celebration!
So how’s your faith? Maybe our prayers sound like Martha’s: Lord, if you had done something, this horrible thing wouldn’t have happened. But notice what Martha said next: I trust you anyway. I know that you’re still good. Even though it hurts so badly right now, I know that you can still redeem. All of us today live in a dead world, but our God is resurrection, and there is eternal life waiting for us and awesome redemption to one day be witnessed. And so Jesus’ question to Martha also extends to us: do you believe this?
