by Amanda Mcknight

Created on: March 06, 2007   Last Updated: May 11, 2007

Imagine that you are a mother or father, and your child, who I will call Suzie, has just been told not to hit little Johnny. Suzie now has the choice to either hit Johnny, or refrain from hitting Johnny. You are not holding Suzie against a wall and restraining her from going near Johnny, but instead you are giving her the free will to either obey or disobey you. Now imagine that you told Suzie that she would be in trouble if she hit Johnny. So, if Suzie, right after hearing all that you told her, walks up to Johnny and hits him, what are you going to do? Most likely Suzie will be disciplined so that she will learn that hitting isn't very nice.

This concept works with God in the same way. God gave mankind laws to follow- not only that, but He wove throughout our very being these laws. We are not going to naturally believe that murder is all right. Something within us fights against that belief. When we are children, we don't have to be taught the difference between right and wrong. God has given us universal laws to follow, and He gave these laws not for the sake of being able to punish people, but for the sake of ourselves and others. He does not want mankind to suffer from sin, yet many times we do sin and end up facing the consequences. God did not create evil- evil can be described as a parasite that has latched onto good. For example, sex within marriage is a beautiful thing, but mankind has twisted it to the point that it is now common and accepted to be involved in sex outside of marriage, or to be a homosexual. The result of these sins? AIDS, STD's, and much more. Sex itself is not wrong, but can be taken outside of its rightful, God-ordained bounds. There it becomes wrong. There is where the parasite of evil latches onto good. Asking why God punishes evil when he has given free will is like asking why mom and dad punish Suzie for hitting Johnny, when they gave Suzie the choice to either hit or not hit Johnny. Suzie knew what was right. We know what is right, and have a duty to honor our Creator. I don't count that a difficult duty, either. You see, God reaches far beyond simply punishment. God loves you, God loves the sex offender, God loves the simple and lowly of the world, He loves the kings and queens. He wants you to make the right choice- He wants you to be saved, so that He might be closer to you. It's more than punishment- its love before, after, and during punishment. In fact, evil won't be truly punished until Christ's second coming, during which time those who have made the decision to despise Christ will be thrown into hell with Satan and his demons (hell was created for the punishment of Satan).

However, God's mercy is ever-reaching, never-changing. Yes, we sin. Yes, we have the free will to choose right or wrong. Yes, we fail. But thank God that through Jesus Christ we can have the victory! When we come to Jesus Christ, we are endowed with forgiveness for ALL our past, present, and future sins. God did not want robots- he wanted real people. He has given us the choice to choose him or to despise him. Maybe now is the time to experience his endless forgiveness! Remember, you have the free will to choose.

Learn more about this author, Amanda Mcknight.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.