Articles
Getting Back to the Garden
Did God create the darkness in our lives? Genesis 1:1-5 says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.” When God created the universe amidst the dark void He brought order to it by adding the light.
People might think, “Lucifer, the king of darkness was present in the garden and described as a serpent. Since God created the angel Lucifer and let Him tempt mankind in the garden, wouldn’t that mean God is the source of evil and sin in the world?” The simple answer is no. 1 John 1:15 states that God is light and there is no darkness in Him. As a creator, God does not produce darkness or cause people to sin. James 1: 13 says, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ’I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.” God is the source of all the love and light in this world. God even loves His creations so much that He doesn’t force them to obey Him. He didn’t force mankind or the angels to obey Him, He let them have the choice of free will.
Jude 6 states, “And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling He has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the day of judgement.” Satan along with His supporters chose to disobey God and be cast down out of Heaven. He chose to be a permanent enemy of God and tempt mankind. Mankind—through Adam and Eve—also chose to become an enemy of God when they sinned by eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge. Satan chose to become a permanent enemy of God, but humans have shown that their willingness to return to walking in His light. God found righteousness in Noah, saving him and his family from destruction. He found committed faith in the heart Abraham, thus, choosing him to be the father of Israel.
God is not a harbinger of evil or an appeaser of evil that some will claim Him to be. God is a harbinger of love and goodness. He always procures a way out of darkness for His people (1 Cor. 10:13). He loves His creation of man so much that He created a world in which we have the freedom of choice. Through Jesus we can choose to live for Him on Earth in order to live with Him in Heaven eternally when we die. When we get baptized we commit our lives to God eternally. Living a life committed to God comes from our desire to love Him, and in return for our committed love and sacrifice, we gain eternal life. Instead of asking, ”Why do bad things happen?” Or, “Why is sin in the world?”, maybe we should be asking ourselves, “What am I going to do about the darkness in my life?” One thing you can do is commit yourself to a righteous way of living that will bring light to yourself and others. Will you choose to walk with God like mankind used to in the garden?
*all verses are taken from the ESV Bible
