I used to read this section and wonder why God didn't just fix the problem? I mean, he’s God right? Why suffering? Why pain? Why frustration and brokenness? I think a lot of people struggle with this dilemma. Why would God allow evil into his creation in the first place? And why doesn't he seem to fix the problem? These two questions about the fall are really just a small part of two bigger questions that people have debated since time began: “Is God good?” and “Is God all-powerful?” In fact, Adam and Eve were confronted with the first question “Is God Good?” as we saw in our last post. Their actions answered the question with a resounding: “No. He’s not good. I know better.” As we work through the Bible, we’ll have to consider these two questions over and over again: “Is God good?” and “Is God all-powerful?”
When I consider the situation, I wonder what I’d do in God’s place. There are many options. Consider these:
Resigned acceptance – “Well, back to the drawing board. ‘Earth 2.0’ has a nice ring to it don’t you think?”
Passive aggressive – “I think it’s time for a nice hot meteor shower don’t you? Oh. Too hot? I’m terribly sorry, but it IS the best thing for cleaning up messes like these.”
Wishful thinking – “Let’s just forget this ever happened and start over. Best friends?”
Fashionable – “I’m trying to figure out if the Earth would look better as a cloud of vapor or with a shiny glass surface ten kilometers thick.”
Apologetic - “Oops, it seems I've bumped your planet onto a collision course with the sun. Butterfingers!
Time travel – “Did God really say – “ [Flash, bang, boom! An imposing figure appears in the garden and says:] “Come with me if you want to live…”
Cooking show – “Just pop it into a 7200 degree oven for about 2000 years. Oh! It seems I've got another in there already. Doesn't it look delicious? You know it’s done when it stops bubbling and a knife melts before you can get it close to the surface. Bon appetite!”
OK, all humor aside, my options boil down to destroying everything and starting over or somehow undoing man’s rebellious actions, or just ignoring the problem all together. Let's look at each of these options and consider what kind of god would act this way.
What would we think if God ignored the problem, hugged the first couple and acted as if nothing had happened? We would probably start asking questions like, "Did God really mean what he said about eating the fruit?" And move on to questions like, "What kind of God doesn't do what he says he'll do?" And end up with questions like, "How can I believe anything God says?" or, "What else can I get away with?" and, "I don't really need to listen to God at all." It's obvious that a willfully blind god isn't a very good one.
So, what if God completely destroyed mankind and started over? Well, at least he wouldn't be useless like the god of the last option. This is a god who has power and knows how to use it! But consider all the time and effort he spent making the earth and everything that lives on it. We might start asking questions about such a god like, "did he forget something?" or, "did he make a mistake?" or, "did he care about what he created?" or even, "what will this god do to me?" It seems like this god, while powerful, is either uncaring or foolish. He wields his power haphazardly and has no mercy, grace, or wisdom. While this god is worth fearing, he is not a god worth following.
So, why didn't God just erase the problem? Maybe he could have just waved a magic wand or modified everyone's memory to make things OK again. Surely this would be a good and measured use of his power right? This god has great appeal for a modern culture filled with near-instantaneous fixes. But, for a moment, consider that the garden scene was a game of chess between God and the serpent. The serpent made his move and victoriously declared "checkmate!". A god that fixes problems by erasing them would say something like, "New rule! No checkmates on Tuesdays!" or he might remove the serpent's last piece and say, "I don't know what you're talking about..." This god is a cheater and isn't trustworthy. How can we trust that he won't break the rules when it comes to his interactions with us? And, not only is this god a cheater, he's also a loser. When the serpent cried out, "checkmate!" this god's only option for winning was to change the board. It seems like this god isn't worth following either.
Thankfully, God doesn't act like any of these optional gods. He's not blind, uncaring, foolish, or untrustworthy. He acknowledges mankind's rebellion and deals with it like a good parent. He holds his children responsible for their actions and explains and enforces the consequences. When I compare God's response to how I would respond, it's clear that he is more restrained, more calm, more mature, and more thoughtful than me. When I consider how he uses his power in this situation, I see the same caring craftsman depicted in Genesis 1 and 2. He acts with exacting precision in every situation. And he prepares his creation for what's coming next. Even though mankind had rebelled, God still takes the time to prepare them. In short he acts better than me.
The realization that God acts better than I do is important. I know that it doesn't fully answer the questions of if God is good and all-powerful. But it does place him somewhere above me on the scale of goodness. This might not seem significant, but consider where Adam and Eve placed God on the goodness-scale when tempted by the serpent. They decided their judgment was better than God’s and that decision lead to disaster. When we answer, “God is better than me” we are on a different path than theirs.
For a moment, let's return to the chess game I mentioned above. How does God respond when the serpent declares victory? If he didn't cheat and didn't leave the game (or flipped over the board), how is DID he respond in this analogy? Let's consider that a bit more closely in the next post.
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