Why do bad things happen? This seems to be the age old question that has sent many people on a mission for the answers. Answers that range from karma to the wrath of God. Many times it is easy to see that bad things happen as a result of our actions. The bad things that happen because of our actions are easier to accept because there seems to be a pretty clear explanation to that. But what about bad things that seemingly just happen out of the blue. Horrible occurrences like this happen all the time in the form of tornadoes, cancer, famine and most recently, the COVID-19 virus. These kinds of happenings are known by some people as “natural evil” and they happen randomly and as casually as the earth turns.
Natural evil will happen to everyone at some point in their life. So we need a worldview and more specifically a Savior that can not only answer for this evil but also redeems and corrects this evil. Many of our worldly idols cannot hold up to this evil. Happiness is hard to find in corona quarantine, natural disasters like hurricanes can destroy your wealth possessions, cancer can take away loved ones. Since we know that these pains are unavoidable in life, how do we go about living in hope? Many of our pains and our questions about them are timeless. We can take hope in the story of one first century man who faced these same pains and questions so long ago, but came upon a fellow named Jesus.
This man had experienced natural evil from the very beginning of his life. He was born blind. He had never seen the green of leaves on a tree, or the clouds in the sky being painted red and purple by a sunset. All of this changed when he encountered Jesus. But before Jesus heals this man, he answers a very important question that his disciples have and at many points in life, we have as well.
The disciples' first reaction upon seeing this blind man was asking Jesus “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”. Their assumption came from a Judaic cultural belief at the time that suffering had a direct correlation to someone’s sin. This belief, though transformed, has been passed down through the ages and is even seen today. Many people, even some Christians, subconsciously believe in some type of “Karma”, where bad stuff happens to people that do bad things, and that the innocent are usually spared of these evil occurrences. Look around the world today, and you will see that is simply not the case. “The good man dies, and the bad man thrives” and this worldview of just bad occurrences crumbles.
Jesus’ answer reinforces this truth and adds onto it as well. He says “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him”. At first glance, this looks like Jesus is saying that God caused this man to be blind, just so Jesus could come along and heal him. However we know that conditions like blindness are a direct result of the fall. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit, not only did humans fall into brokenness, but all of nature did as well. The apostle Paul writes in Romans that all creation literally groans and calls out for the Lord to save it. So the fall of man coincides with the fall of nature, and the fall of nature causes evils like blindness in this world. However, God does allow this evil to occur, and Jesus’ answer explains why.
“That the works of God might be displayed in him”. Before Jesus heals this man, he reveals to his disciples that the Lord has a mysterious and wise nature. And in all of His wisdom, he sometimes allows his children to go through hardship and suffering so they can experience the Lord’s healing power and deliverance. How can we truly see how wonderful the light is without experiencing the pitch black darkness? Jesus then puts these powerful words into action.
The scripture says Jesus made mud with his saliva, put that mud on the man’s eyes, and the man went from pitch black darkness to light. Just imagine this man's amazement at every visual thing after experiencing decades of darkness. This man then became a testament to Jesus’ power and kingship over evil, and in this case “natural evil”. This is just a foreshadowing of what the Lord intends to do for all of nature.
Through Christ’s death and resurrection, God the father plans to put together this broken world. Earthquakes, blindness, and viruses are all of nature groaning, and the Lord has heard these groans and he has a plan to heal, just like Jesus healed this blind man. So what does that mean for us right now in the present as we deal with the ramifications of COVID-19 and all the other bad things that are happening?
First, it might mean that we as humans cannot find any reason for these evils, but there is a reason and plan beyond our knowledge. This is like a small child, who goes to the doctors office for shots. These are painful and the child has no idea why this pain is being inflicted, but the plan for these shots is to ultimately help the child and not hurt them. The same goes for the Lord’s plans for these painful things in our life. Secondly, the Lord feels our pain and is sorrowful with us, even though He knows the ultimate plan. Jesus not only healed, but He suffered just like us and more so that as Hebrews 4:15 tells us his sinless self is able to sympathize with us and share in our suffering.
Lastly, we have a future hope that this evil reality will not always be like this. Jesus didn’t just feel bad for the blind man and leave him be, he HEALED him! He turned this natural evil into a display of his goodness and of the completion found in Christ that heals this brokenness. The Lord’s plan is at work through the world’s present brokenness and this includes it’s ultimate healing in the future.
It’s okay to feel sad for the bad things that are going on in this world. It’s not supposed to be like this. But in your sadness remember this story of the blind man and the Lord’s healing power. And take heart, for the Lord is with you and He has overcome this world.
