Dear Mr. Wilson:
I have been living
in hell for the past ten years.
Our daughter was raped and
murdered in 1999. She was a
wonderful person, my best friend.
We raised her two children; they
are now 20 and 22. My husband and
I have tried to hide our sorrow
and anger from the children, but
sometimes it spills out. My
bitterness toward her murderer
and God is devouring me from the
inside out. Her murderer has not
been captured and my heartache is
endless. I cannot count the
number of days that I have spent
crying. Even on my best days, I
am hurting. If there is a God of
love, why does He permit
injustice to ruin so many lives?
I need answers. The rapist is
probably free and has no remorse.
Please don’t tell me to
trust in God and everything will
work out.
Sincerely,
Jean (not her real
name)
_________________________________________________________________
Dear Jean:
Thank you for your
letter. I am pleased that you are
reaching out for help and I am
happy to respond to your
question. The loss of a child is
a terrible tragedy and losing a
child through predatory violence
has to be most agonizing.
My heart is stirred at the ever
expanding circle of suffering
that one predator imposed upon
you and your family ten years
ago. Many people experience
involuntary suffering after a
deep emotional injury occurs.
Endless sorrow is highly
distressing, but the good news is
that recovery is possible. I have
seen people regain their balance
through counselors and support
groups. Also, if you haven’t
seen a physician recently, why
not have a check up? Lengthy
sorrow can alter body chemistry
and a little adjustment by a good
doctor can help make a
difference! The truth about God
is interesting and emotionally
helpful, but please find a
counselor who can help you
discover your purpose in life.
You are alive because God has a
purpose for you and fulfilling
that purpose will bring much joy.
Note: Jean’s
situation illustrates a human
dilemma. I thought her question
might be helpful to those of us
who will face the Great
Tribulation, because a time is
coming when millions of
Christians will experience
violence and gross injustice
because they stand firm in their
faith. Unfortunately, many
Christians are not prepared
intellectually, spiritually, or
emotionally to deal with
persecution. Remember the words
of Jesus, “… And
surely I am with you always, to
the very end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:20) Jesus will give
us the grace and strength to meet
every challenge if we abide in
Him.
(1 Corinthians 10:
13; 2 Corinthians 12:9)
Why?
“Why does God
permit injustice?” This is
an ancient question. In fact, the
oldest book in the Bible (the
book of Job) is devoted to this
question. God permits injustice
to exist because He predetermined
billions of years ago that sin
should be allowed to exist for a
finite amount of time. Why did
God decide to allow sin to exist?
God’s greatest problem is
not the current existence of sin;
instead, His greatest problem is
preventing sin from occurring a
third time. This requires a
little explanation.
Before sin
existed, Heaven was a happy
place. There was no injustice,
heartache, sickness, violence, or
death. After 6,000 years of sin,
I am sure we all agree that
Heaven then was a wonderful place
to be. Back then; there was no
knowledge of such things. Only
God knew about good and evil
until sin began. The angels were
innocent and naïve. They were
happy because they had no
predisposition for wrongdoing. We
would say they lived as
“very sheltered”
children until the day that
Lucifer became unhappy with
God’s ways. The Bible
reveals that pride led the devil
to complain that God was unfair,
arbitrary, and could not be
trusted. One third of the angels
listened to Lucifer and they
sided with him. Their
disaffection for God led to war.
Lucifer and his angels were cast
out of Heaven. (Isaiah 14:12-17;
Ezekiel 28:12-17) Even though God
expelled Lucifer and his angels
for rebellion, He did not destroy
them for at least four reasons:
1. If
God had destroyed Lucifer and his
angels as soon as they sinned,
surviving angels would have
concluded that God was indeed a
dictator who did not tolerate
position. Think about this: If
God had destroyed Lucifer and his
angels before the fruits of good
and evil matured, highly
intelligent angels would not be
able to love and trust a god who
quickly annihilated beings who
disagreed with Him. Should angels
love God because God is love
(that is, should they love Him
because He truly is wise,
patient, fair, reasonable,
generous, and forgiving), or
should angels submit to God
because sudden death is the
penalty for voicing disagreement?
If God had killed Lucifer and his
followers before the fruits of
rebellion had matured, the
remaining angels would have
concluded that God is a divine
bully. He could claim to be a God
of love, but his actions would
appear to prove that Heaven is
either a place of total
submission or instant death.
2.
God’s foremost concern is
the eternal happiness of His
children. He has infinite wisdom
and perfect foreknowledge. His
ways are perfect and His action
consistent with principles of
love. God foreknew that sin on
Earth needed a few thousands
years to mature. By allowing the
devil and his angels to live, God
has provided the universe with
two contrasting governments to
study - one in Heaven (free of
rebellion, full of joy and
happiness) and one on Earth (full
of sin, decadence, depravity,
selfishness, violence and death).
By permitting these two
governments to simultaneously
exist, God has enabled
intelligent beings to see the
difference for themselves. He
does not have to defend Himself.
The evidence speaks for itself.
3.
God grants the power off choice
to His children. He also holds
each of us accountable for our
actions. This means that we do
not have to obey God, love
Him, or respond to His goodness
or generosity. Lucifer and his
angels have proven that free will
exists. They chose to
rebel against God and His laws.
Adam and Eve also have proven
that free will exists; they chose
to disobey God. For 6.000 years,
sin has flourished on Earth.
History has proven
over and over again (with the
rise and fall of numerous
civilizations) that human beings
suffer in direct proportion to
their departure from the laws of
God. In other words, God’s
laws are not for His benefit, but
ours. Sin is intoxicating. Sin
offers temporary pleasure and
excitement, but it always
extracts a price that is far
greater than the benefit. Sin
takes us farther than we want to
go and costs more than we want to
pay. No matter how well Satan
disguises it, “the wages
of sin is death.”
(Romans 6:23) God has permitted
sin and rebellion to mature so
that intelligent people can see
the difference between God’s
order and Lucifer’s order.
Once the curse of sin is removed
from the universe, no one will
ever want to sin again.
“Been there, done
that.”
4.
Because the Father foreknew
Lucifer’s rebellion and the
consequences of allowing Satan
and his angels to live, He
created a plan to save everyone
who would live on Earth. He loved
the people of the world so much
that He gave Jesus as an
atonement for our sins. For no
other reason than love, Jesus was
willing to become a man and die
one of the harshest deaths known
to man so the penalty for our sin
could be paid! The Godhead has
suffered more and paid a higher
price for the existence of sin
than any angel or human being
will ever know! Incidentally, God
did not create a plan of
salvation for Lucifer and his
angels because they were
confronted with the truth many
times and they willfully and
defiantly rejected God’s
counsel. Lucifer and his angels
committed the unpardonable sin.
(Matthew 12:31,32)
When these four
issues are synthesized, we see
why God did not immediately
destroy Lucifer and his
rebellious angels. We see why sin
has been permitted to exist and
by extension, why God permits
injustice to exist. Look around.
Evil is overcoming good and this
contest will soon reach a painful
climax during the Great
Tribulation The really good news
is that after the current drama
with sin is completed, sin will
be no more. Injustice, heartache,
sorrow, violence, and death will
be gone forever! Never again will
a mother senselessly lose a
beloved child in a despicable act
of violence. Never again
throughout all eternity –
even among a universe of beings
having the power of choice –
will sin rule! Amen!
When it comes to
injustice, “God has a ace up
His sleeve.” He has
accurately recorded every
injustice. At the second coming,
God will take the saints to
Heaven. During the thousand
years, the saints will sit in
judgment of the wicked with
Jesus. (1 Corinthians 6:2,3;
Revelation 20:6) The saints will
watch each episode of injustice
and they will determine the
amount of suffering each wicked
person must experience in the
fires of hell. In other words,
Jean, if the man who murdered
your daughter is not saved, he
will be forced to suffer twice
the amount of pain your daughter
suffered. Then, this predator
will also suffer for the family
he hurt. God will see to it that
justice is finally served. There
is no revenge like God’s
revenge. God’s justice will
not be satisfied until the last
penny has been repaid. (Matthew
5:26) So, be assured that
“Justice Day” is surely
coming.
Meanwhile, Jesus
is anxious to set everyone free
from bitterness if we are willing
to “let go of it” and
grasp something better. What is
better than revenge? God’s
answer is forgiveness! If we ask
God each day for the strength to
forgive those who have harmed us
or our loved ones, a miracle will
happen. The glacier of hatred
will begin to melt and evaporate.
If we do not let go of bitterness
and hatred, it will destroy us.
The first step is ours. We must
choose to forgive our enemies.
Unless we do, our health will
fail, relationships will sour,
and our lives will be filled with
sorrow and depression instead of
the joy and happiness that God
intended.
Remember this,
Jean; your daughter belonged to
you and God. He gave her
life through you and you can be
sure He knows the perpetrator by
name and justice will be served.
In the meantime, you need to
experience the miracle of
forgiveness, and it will surely
happen if you will begin by
asking God to help you do
something you cannot do yourself.
Ask God to fill your heart with
love. Start praying for the
perpetrator of this crime. He
surely needs a transformation
that only the Holy Spirit can
produce. He needs salvation and a
knowledge of the Lord. He needs
to confess his sins and make
wrongs right while there is still
time. In God’s sight, he is
a sinner and the penalty will be
enormous. If you begin to pray
for him (regardless of your
present feelings), you will be
changed in the process. God will
set you free of bitterness. When
Jesus sets you free, you will be
free indeed! In place of anger
and bitterness, God will bring
peace and assurance. I know you
told me not to tell you to trust
in God, but the truth is, there
is no other way-it is the key to
success! “And we know
that in God all things works for
the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to
his purpose.” (Romans
8:28) “Do not take
revenge, my friends, but leave
room for God’s wrath, for it
is written: ‘It is mine to
avenge; I will repay,’ says
the Lord. On the contrary:
‘If your enemy is hungry,
feed him; if he is thirsty, give
him something to drink. In doing
this, you will heap burning coals
in his head.’ Do not be
overcome by evil, but overcome
evil with good.” (Romans
12:19-21)
I hope this helps!
Larry Wilson
