Will Power

As we get to know the Creator of the universe, we are overwhelmed by His power and His love. One of the most misunderstood concepts about God is the existence of evil. Why would a loving, all-powerful God allow evil to exist? The answer is found in our free will and the free will He has given His angels. God wants us to love, worship and obey Him because that is our heart’s desire, not because He forces us to do it.

You may have seen the video on social media that shows a barber telling his Christian client that he doesn’t believe God exists because if there was a loving, all-powerful God, He would not allow all of the evil and injustice in the world. As the client leaves the barber shop he spots a homeless man with long hair and a scraggly beard. He takes that man back into the barber shop with him and proclaims, “I don’t believe barbers exist. If there were barbers, there would not be men who look like this in the world.” The barber said, “They are like that because they don’t come to me.” Smiling the client replied, “Exactly, and evil exists in the world not because there is no God, but because men choose not to come to Him.”

In order for us to have a free will, there must be an alternative to loving and serving God. Lucifer and a group of angels chose not to love, worship and obey God and that evil alternative became real. You see, the absence of God’s presence is the absence of truth, love, light and righteousness. When they moved away from God; lies, cruelty, injustice, idolatry, evil and self-indulgence came easy to them. They took on a sinful nature. God created man in his image also with free will to choose to love, worship and obey Him. When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, they took on that same sinful nature and then passed it down through generations (Romans 5:12).

God is not only all-powerful; He is all-knowing. It isn’t a matter that angels and humans might choose not to love and worship Him. He knew when He created us that some angels and humans would choose to disobey Him, but it was more important to him that our love, worship and obedience were our choice and He gave us free will anyway. In His unfailing love, He provides a way for us to shed our sinful nature through belief in the sacrifice of His Son on the cross for our sins. Jesus’ resurrection gives proof of the everlasting life that faith in Him produces. We can freely love, worship and obey Him forever. It is God’s will that all should be saved and not perish (John 3:16-17), but He does not impose His will on us. We must make the decision. In the famous painting that shows Jesus standing at the door and knocking there is no handle on the outside of that door. God wants us to open our hearts and lives to Jesus of our own free will and when we do, He will never leave us nor forsake us.