Overcoming Evil with God

Like you I was shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific mass murder shooting in Las Vegas. How could there be such evil in the world? What can we do about it?

A short time after the shooting I heard a radio interview with a teenage daughter of one of the victims. The girl described her mother as a caring and wonderful person. She said that her goal in life now is to become the best person she can be so that her mother would be proud of her.

I believe that this is an example of the most faithful response that a person can make to acts of evil. It can be described in two words:

Use it.

Sometimes in life there is necessary pain that we must experience in order to get to a better place. For example, physical exercise can be painful but it is actually beneficial and can make a person healthier and stronger. The Bible tells the story of the Israelites traveling in the wilderness for forty years. It was a painful experience but necessary in order to get to the promised land. I believe this describes the pain being experienced in the United Methodist Church as the Commission on a Way Forward is working to discern a future for the church. It is painful but necessary in order to get to a better place. And we will get to a better place.

There are also times when people experience unnecessary pain that serves no purpose whatsoever and only brings harm and destruction. The shooter in Las Vegas is an example of this kind of unnecessary pain. Other examples include the recent earthquakes in Mexico and hurricanes in the Caribbean along with other illnesses and accidents.

While unnecessary, the truth is we all must live with such pain at times. It happens.

Jesus’ death on the cross is an example of an evil and unnecessary pain from a human perspective. Jesus’ crucifixion happened on a day that Christians call, “Good Friday.” But there was nothing good about an innocent man being brutally tortured and murdered by his fellow man. However, that is where God stepped in. The resurrection of Jesus is our hope. While humans intended Jesus’ death for evil and self serving purposes, God was able to use it for good. The cross became the ultimate symbol of how much God loves and forgives humanity and wants to take us to a better place. The resurrection is our hope for God being with us and using pain to bring about something good.

This hope and power begins in each individual heart with a relationship with the living God. Jesus is our connection to God and a relationship of both truth and love that can be the pattern of our relationships with other people. To help each other see Jesus and become more like him is our vision.

When evil strikes, we can look for Jesus and know God can use it for good. Then we will join with Jesus in God’s plan to save the world one life at time. We can’t do it on our own, but with Jesus, we can overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21).