Why God?

As I prepare a study from the book of James, I found myself pondering the intent and meaning of James 1:13, “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.” Many individuals, myself included have at one time shook a fist at Heaven and asked, “Why God?” I think we need to ask who’s truly responsible for bringing us into a place of strife and hurt. Let us be reminded that man (Adam) gave his God-gifted authority over the earth to our foe the devil at the beginning of our History as a Human race. The consequences of Adam’s decision resulted in the earth being saturated in sin and man’s relationship with God broken.

Thankfully God is rich in mercy towards us and gave his son Jesus to reconcile this broken friendship with man. Because of Jesus death and resurrection (He defeated death and took back the authority we gave the devil in the beginning.) we now have friendship with God.

Therefore we can conclude that the sin we are tempted with, the hurt that touches our lives and the evil we see in the world, is not due to God’s neglect. No, it is the willful neglect of man’s (Adam) responsibility to say no to the devil. Admitting ones guilt may be difficult on ones pride, but it is the first step towards freedom. Thankfully we have a God that not only takes this step for us, but will walk with us through the difficulty. Enjoy the walk.