God could take away this awareness and ability and we would all be “programmed” the same.

However, this would take away free will and thus take away our ability to have meaningful relationships with people, creation, and God. 

For instance, if God “made” us love Him, others, and the world He’s given us, would that really be love? Absolutely not!

Love is what it is because we choose it and express it freely, not because someone makes us do it.

If there was no darkness in the world, then we would not understand the meaning of light and hope, which is what God promises to us in Revelation and at many other times in the scriptures.

Romans 8:38-39 reminds us that God’s love is more powerful than any evil in this world: “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

We are not meant to understand everything in the universe and creation. Only God does.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 reads, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom the work God has done from beginning to end.”

If we were to try to understand God’s purpose for creation it would be like a young child trying to understand college material given at universities. A silly analogy but powerful: it is just not possible and we cannot compare ourselves to Him.

Evil and suffering give us a chance to experience hope and the comfort of God.

If we did not experience these things we would not be able to experience joy and growth.

Romans 5:3-5 reads, “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

Sometimes we feel like God could not possibly understand our suffering, yet he endured the greatest suffering of all: watching His Son be crucified for us so that we could experience the joys of this life.

 John 3:16 reads, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

God promises a glory that will be revealed to us, which is the ultimate hope of the future.

A new Eden on Earth and the way we were originally created to be. There is no greater promise to trust in.

Romans 8:18 states, “For I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

No matter what pain we experience in this life, it’s nothing compared to the eternity God has promised us by His side.

God has the power to stop any evil acts from happening- murder, terrorism, etc.

However, if he were to take all evil acts away, where is the line for him to draw?

Should he then take away “lesser” evil things which can lead to bigger acts of evil? The ability to lie? Have an affair? Fight others with your words and actions?

In God’s eyes, evil is evil, and if He were to eradicate all evil indiscriminately, no one would be left.

We all sin. Where would God draw this line?

Sin gives everyone, no matter how horrendous the act, a chance for redemption, which is the greatest love He can ever provide. 

Conclusion:

God will come to judge the evil in this world, however, He is giving us this time in our world filled with consequences, choices, love, suffering, and hope to draw us closer to others and to Him.

While it is hard to endure the pain of this life, we must understand the opportunity before us to grow in Christ and prepare ourselves for His coming Kingdom, where

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or crying or mourning or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Rev. 21:4).