Why is there suffering in the world when God is supposed to be a God of love? A question often asked, but often also I believe without real intent upon an answer, because that seeming contradiction is used by many as an excuse for unbelief. Yet there is an answer. And it is bound up in our humanness.
When Lucifer first started to covet power for himself, I doubt even he realised where his ambitions were leading. We are not told how long it took for his personal ambition for power to turn into open rebellion, but turn it did. Any rebellion reveals discontent with the governing power. Lucifer thought he could do better. And amazingly fully one third of the angels believed him. Lucifer's (Satans) charge, that God was somehow unfair, too restrictive, was an act of treason, and like all sin, punishable with death. If one third of the angels believed him, then you can believe that the rest of the angels may have harboured a few doubts also, but chose the staus quo, although I am sure there were not a few who were undecided, seeing how things would develop. Satan sure must have been incredibly persuasive, convincing, even hypnotic in his abililty to convince others of his opinion.
We often see men and women use similar techniques, modern expression for it is called neuro-linguistic-programming. NLP is a form of hypnotism, and is used by many as a tool in speech making.
Anyway, as treason is punishable with death, God had every right to destroy Satan and his fellow rebels on the spot. Snuff them out of existence...but would that have solved the problem? Such sudden justice on the part of God would have fueled the doubts already sown in the hearts of the other angels. Such arbitrary action on the part of God would have confirmed Satans charges against Him.
So God had to wait. He had to bide His time and let the rebellion play itself out. Let Satan himself reveal the true nature of his rebellion, allow time and circumstance to prove that life without the law of God, His mercy, grace, and without the sovereign love of God devolves into all manner of evil.
And when the war between Christ and Satan began to play itself out on this planet and involve mankind, it wasn't long that existence without the influence of God's laws proved fatal for man. Just one generation and we witness the first murder. Yet still not everyone was convinced. You see Adam and Eve blamed one another, and even God, for their sin. Neither was willing to accept responsibility, and confess that they had been wrong. And today? Mankind is even less convinced that life without God is impossible to maintain. Sin is still not recognised the evil it is. And many, even professing Christians, still today believe that laws of God cannot be kept, and are therefore unfair and God's arbitrary judgment for sin an even greater evil than the sin itself.
After Calvary, I am sure the angels in heaven were totally convinced of Satans evil and his wickedness in even considering opposing the govt. of heaven. But man? Man has a way to go yet. Even with all the suffering from wars, disease, violence and hatred, man still rejects God's commandments for a better way to live. But the time is coming when evil on this planet will be so pervasive and global, there will in the end be no doubt that God's ways are true, are right, righteous, just, and good, and His commandments holy, just and good.
The question then will be however, will man wait to long to make up his mind? Will he leave it too late to open his eyes to reality?
