How can a ‘loving’ God allow bad things happen to 'good' people?

Many people may be reading this blog and asking themselves the common question, "How can a ‘loving’ God allow bad things happen to 'good' people?"

It saddens me how few Christians know the answer to this question. The “Well, that’s just the way God works. Sometimes He helps and sometimes He doesn’t. We shouldn’t question Him,” is NOT a good answer.

One of our doctors said she had Christian parents but never became a Christian herself because she saw so much bad in this world and couldn’t understand how a good God could allow for or create such an evil world.

In the short space I have here, I can answer this in multiple ways.

First, God NEVER wanted things to be this way. God's original creation was PERFECT and without sin, suffering, pain and death. Imagine that, NO PAIN and NO DEATH! All we knew was GOOD, but God gave us a choice to live in perfection or CHOOSE to rebel and learn about evil. Unfortunately, our ancestors (Adam and Eve) chose to rebel and eat of the tree of the
knowledge of good AND evil.

God could have, and should have, left us in this condition, but He didn't. He loves us too much. He often intervenes and reverses the effects of sin in the world and in our lives. We call this a miracle, but the true miracle is how He orchestrates all these things for the ultimate good!

You may ask, "How can Eden's condition be used for good?" That's an easy question to answer:
1. Eden has taught Tina and me so many wonderful things: the love of a father and the compassion of a mother, the miracle of life and the tragedy of death. I have never exerienced so much joy or so much pain before in my life.
2. You have benefited. That's right, you are benefiting from this situation. How many times have I heard people comment on the blog, "I thought my problems were big, but now I see they are not," or "I gave my son or daughter an extra big hug today." How wonderful is that?? Life is precious and a gift from God and we often take it for granted.
3. Others. I hope that others that are going through a difficult time with their kids can stumble across this blog and find comfort.
4. Heaven. The Bible is clear that those who die before the age of accountability will be with God in heaven, and those who trust in Jesus Christ will also be in heaven. What a wonderful reunion it will be when we see Eden in her new body someday! My sister Kim put it so well when she said in one of her comments, “Heaven will be a sweeter place with Eden in it.”

Secondly, the question is all wrong. The real question is, "How can a JUST God poor out such grace and mercy to an undeserving and God-hating people?" The Bible tells us there is none righteous, no not one. Yet God demonstrated His love by dying for us on the cross, even while we were still rejecting Him. Jesus sacrifice gives us a chance to escape this evil world and avoid more pain and suffering in the future.

You may ask, “How can a guy dying 2000 years ago help me?” and “Why aren’t things better then, if God ‘fixed’ things with Jesus death on the cross?” It is all about choice. God has taken the evil of this world and once again gives each of us a choice: life or death. You may have seen those ‘strange’ people holding up signs at sporting events that say “John 3:16” and thought, “What’s that all about?” That verse really does explain so much: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” God puts the choice before us, LIFE or DEATH and then pleads with us to CHOOSE LIFE!

You might ask, “How?” It is so simple.
1. We must recognize that we NEED a Saviour. We’ve all messed up, lied, stolen things, looked out for number one rather than for others, put ourselves up as the god of our lives. God requires perfection for salvation. We can’t do it. We need help!
2. Be willing to turn away from this behaviour (Aussie spelling). After receiving Christ, we will continue to make mistakes, but we should desire to turn away from them and follow Him.
3. Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the Cross and rose from the grave. You see, God wants us to BELIEVE Him when He says that Jesus is the only way to salvation. It is NOT about believing IN God, but rather believing WHAT He says in His word.
4. Through prayer, invite Jesus Christ to come in and control your life.

This website gives much more detail: http://www.billygraham.org/SH_StepstoPeace.asp

Join Tina, myself and Eden in a new life. You can personally meet Eden and tell her the impact she has had on your life. She’d love that!

If you’ve said this prayer, the next step is to find a good church and be baptized. These are not required for salvation, but are first steps in obedience to Jesus. To find a good church, just look for one that teaches the Bible. I’d look for a church where the people BRING their Bibles to church and read them. The pastor should live what he teaches and the focus should be on teaching you the character of God. You will have a desire to know this Jesus guy more and more!