by Barbara Stanley

Created on: March 21, 2010   Last Updated: November 10, 2011

If God is so powerful, why does evil exist?

The implication is that an all powerful God could eradicate all evil. This fact is true. God did not create evil, but He created beings with the ability to choose between good and evil. Why would a loving God ever leave a door open for evil to exist?

God created thousands of angels, cherubs, cherubims, and seraphims. He gave them a glorious life without pain, suffering, toiling, or fear. These beings were to be company for God, someone to worship Him as one who had all power and knowledge. One angel, Lucifer, was more beautiful than all the others. He has been referred to as The Morning Star, or Day Star. Lucifer began to see himself equal with God. He became extremely vain and desired that all created beings worship him instead of God.

Lucifer, like all the others, had free will to choose whether to worship God. Forced worship is not worship.  Love cannot be forced. A person who holds another against his will can never know if true love exists or a show of love is given to appease the captor. Of course, God knows the thoughts and feelings of all He has created, but He still desires to be loved freely.

God has shared all things He sees as beautiful: the babbling creek, the mountain waterfalls, delicate orchids and autumn trees of blood red, gold, orange and yellow. He brings us fragrant, colorful flowers all spring and the wonder of silent snowflakes in the winter. This is who God is. God is love. So, why does He allow evil to exist in the heart and mind of man or in Lucifer? There has to be something in our lives to overcome, something over which mankind chooses when he chooses to love God and obey.

When Lucifer began to talk to some of the angels he felt he could manipulate, he explained that he would offer them so much more than God had already given them. He convinced a third of the angels to rebel against God and worship him. Perhaps it was his absolute beauty, or his cunning and charming ways that got the attention of the angels. At any rate, God could have struck him dead on the spot for this rebellion and stamped out evil. Had God done this, all the angels in Heaven would have worshipped God in fear from that point forward, knowing they could also cease to exist if they displeased God.

The angels would have seen a God who was harsh and as one who did not provide a way for repentance and forgiveness. God did not want this. God also knew that Adam and Eve would one day sin, bringing

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