Why do bad things happen? Why are babies born malformed? Why do children have cancer? Why do people kill? Why do animals kill? Why is nature so destructive? So many things bringing so much heartache and pain to so many for which there seems no answer. The answer however lies at the beginning.
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned —
ROMANS 5:12 (sin means offense)
God created life. Everything He created was good as the expressed manifestation of Himself and He put the earth and all its creatures into the hands of the first man and woman whom He created in His own image, that is, a creation distinct from everything else He created representative of His ethos of personal relationship. They were with Him and He was with them, a tangible presence, speaking with them, engaging with them. There was however the option for them to go their own way.
God told them not to take of the knowledge of good and evil because if they did they would die. Seeing though that the knowledge of good and evil was good to have, attractive and able to make them wise, they decided to go with their own evaluation rather than God’s. Essentially in their estimation they rose above Him and replaced Him with themselves and in doing so, gave birth to a nature that was separate from Him, a nature born out of their own will and council that believed in itself over Him.
Their relationship with God had now changed. He was still with them but they hid themselves from Him as they had a nature that did not esteem Him as God and the knowledge of good and evil which they now had would testify against that nature. In their own eyes they were an offense to God and themselves for by His nature as true, holy, righteous and good, He served as the means by which the knowledge of good and evil would be established and affirmed. As a result, death could now find its fulfillment through guilt, condemnation, sickness, disease, poverty, rejection, abandonment, violence and finally, physical death and as they were given authority over the earth, death spread to all things.
So people multiplied on the earth, born in their own image with a sense of self as distinct from God and rather than being in relationship with and drawing from the source of all goodness and life, many would look to and rely on themselves while death was at work. Some chose to be with Him and He would extend His goodness to them despite their nature, but many would continue to generate their own purpose from their own will.
God cannot override a person’s freewill for that would be abuse and He cannot be who He isn’t, but He would reveal to the world why He is the best option. Throughout the course of history He would foretell of a moment in time when He would come to the earth Himself as a human being to provide the means by which everyone could come to Him without hiding, without guilt, condemnation or rejection, the means by which they could be with Him and know Him personally once more where death is overcome by His eternal goodness and life.