Mind of a Christian

Why I Trust that God is Righteous

It's usually in a backdrop of a tragic event that people start questioning the all-good and non-evil nature of God:

The Earth during Noah's time was flooded. Sodom and Gomorrah became a target for divine destruction. The Holocaust left more than ten million people dead, on top of the even greater amount of millions dead from the other aspects of World War II. A lightning strike caused a tree to fall on a four year old boy walking down a street.

Yes, all of these are tragic, and I'm not going to downplay the loss that effects relatives and loved ones.

Yet, we are not in a position to demand from God to give us a good life. We don't deserve to have it easy living our physical lives. There's no shame or fault in mourning and grieving. However, there is fault in blaming God for them.

In light of all the tragedies in the world, I can still confidently say, with the utmost certainty, that God is perfect in every way and the ultimate, absolute source of goodness, righteousness, justice, and morality.

Let's see what John has to say on this topic:

"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all."
(1 John 5:5 NIV)

When speaking to Job, Elihu says:

"Far be it from God to do wickedness,
And from the Almighty to do wrong."
(Job 34:10 NASB)

Don't trust Elihu? How about Moses, when he sings:

"The Rock! His work is perfect,
For all His ways are just;
A God of faithfulness and without injustice,
Righteous and upright is He."
(Deuteronomy 32:4 NASB)

Alright, maybe you're unmoved. Maybe you're not convinced just because John the Apostle, Elihu, and Moses said so. So let me give you a more fleshed out example:

I think we can all agree that greed, pride, and hostility are evil things. Shaming the poor, especially from a position of great wealth, is unjust. The Western culture (despite growing appreciation towards materialism) still finds appeal to the underdog, the humble man with a kind heart.

Who then, does Jesus bless in Beatitudes?

The poor in spirit.
Those who mourn.
The meek.
The ones seeking righteousness.
The merciful.
The pure in heart.
The peacemakers.
The persecuted and insulted.
(Matthew 5:3-12)

Jesus the Messiah - God Himself, is on the side of the humble and beaten, those who were denied justice, and those who want peace and righteousness. For those who suffered, He assures them comfort.

But some of us might still feel at a loss when knowing that God is good, yet the world is filled with tragedy. How can someone justify the four year old child dying from a falling tree? Why did God not save that child's life?

If we are to say that God is good, God is in control, and that tragedies still happen, we must establish first that God also operates on a much higher level than us. As finite human beings existing in the same reality as an infinite God, this is kind of expected. We're not going to understand every reasoning behind His actions.

In Job 38-41, God gives a glimpse to Job of how much He is in control of the Earth and the universe. Job has become witness to just how puny he is in strength, control, and wisdom compared to God, and concedes with:

"Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know."
(Job 42:3 NIV)

This is the Job who was once a wealthy man, who then lost his herds, his property, and his children. This is the Job who then suffered painful sores on his skin and has a spouse who wanted him to curse God. A man who is no stranger to tragedy that hits close to home has come to conclusion that God's ways are incomprehensible.

And if Job was not clear enough, in Isaiah, God declares:

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways...
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts."
(Isaiah 55:8-9 NASB)

God is good, even when we don't understand why things are going wrong.

Let's go back to the four year old child who died from a falling tree in a storm. I once read a similar story, from Frank Turek's Stealing from God. He presents an answer from an audience member that addresses this question: "why do some babies die such horrible deaths?" (Turek 130). Here's how it goes:

"So the terrible death of a baby today might motivate a series of intermediate events that lead to great goods hundreds of years from now. Perhaps the death ripples forward to bring about a very influential evangelist who helps save millions. The end result is that the baby goes to heaven and so do the millions reached for Christ by the evangelist." (Turek 138)

Similarly, the four year old child will probably go to heaven just like the baby, and his death will spark people to pursue a better way of life for children. The town, and larger communities and firms will start programs to teach parents how to care for their children, or how to prepare for severe weather. In the end, the mortality rate for kids drops.

That example goes to show that something as seemingly evil in its tragic nature as an innocent child dying does have a purpose in the spreading of good while not at the expense of unrighteousness.

But we don't have to know all the answers to every single tragedy. I trust that God has all of them handled, all converging to good things.

"'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
Revelation 21:4 NIV

Works Cited

Turek, Frank. Stealing from God: Why Atheists Need God to Make Their Case. NavPress, 2015.