She walks out of the room in a huff. The dad sat and scowled. The boy interrupted the silence, “Daddy, you don’t have to tell me how wars begin. I think I know how.” [Found on ww.maxlucado.com “Why Does God Allow War?”
What’s really amazing is not that there is war in the world, but that it’s not even more widespread than it really is. You see, every one of us has these inner desires to placate ourselves while we disregard others. We are all prone to war even with our own brothers and sisters. War comes from the sin nature that lives inside each one of you. So, when you consider the truth about war, you realize that you are as likely as your fellow human being to be at war with someone. War begins at home. It originates inside human hearts. Now, the second question that arises is just as difficult. If war arises from our own human and sinful hearts, why does the LORD oftentimes appear to take sides in war? Doesn’t this indict God? Well, if anything, it exonerates God. The simplest answer is this. Since the days of Adam and Eve, there has been a clash between good and evil and right and wrong. And so, war is the inevitable result of two extremely contrasting things: good and evil. And who would want a God that is powerless to oppose evil and injustice? Wouldn’t you choose a God Who was always at war with wrong and evil? Here’s part of what the Bible says about God and war. Exodus 15:3 “The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.” I Chronicles 14:15 “And it shall be, when thou shalt hear a sound of going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt go out to battle: for God is gone forth before thee to smite the host of the Philistines.” So, it’s true that God often led His people into battle. Here’s a passage of explanation from the LORD Himself on why Israel went to war in the land of Canaan, for example. |
|