Hi Sandy,
Welcome to the forum. The question you ask cannot be fully answered in just one e-mail, but here is a great e-mail that Ray wrote to a reader who asked questions similar to yours:
God is SPIRIT. God is interested ONLY in spiritual things. All this physical
creation is not something that God takes great pleasure in--it is but a means to an end.
Well, what does He want then? He wants CHILDREN! SPIRITUAL Sons and Daughters in HIS VERY
IMAGE!
But, how does He get them? Create them? Yes, CREATE them. But how does He create them.
Instantly? No. To be in the IMAGE of God means that we will have the very same CHARACTER
AND LOVE of God. Character and Love cannot be created instantly; it can only be developed
over a period of time under severe pressure and duress. And so God creates severe
pressure and duress, which produces GODLY CHARACTER. Imagine creating
"patience," INSTANTLY? Why the very thought is self-contradicting. Patience by
its very nature means that something must be WAITED FOR even though it is desired NOW.
God knows what He is doing. Now then, there is a second part to all this. We ourselves
would never ever really appreciate the qualities of character, virtue, and love, that we
will possess if we did not have to "sweat blood" to get them. There is no
virtue that you can name that is not the result of overcoming some form of evil
"Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not EVIL AND GOOD?" (Lam. 3:38).
"...an experience of EVIL hath God given to the sons of man to humble him
thereby" (Ecc. 1:13, Concordant Translation).
"Or has not the potter [GOD] the right over the clay, out of the same kneading to
make one vessel, indeed, for honor, yet, on for DISHONOR?" (Rom. 9:19-25).
"...I [GOD] will bring EVIL from the north, and a GREAT DESTRUCTION" (Jer.
4:6).
"...Hear, O earth: behold, I [GOD] will bring EVIL upon this people..." (Jer.
6:19).
"And he said, I [the lying spirit] will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his
prophets... and He [GOD] said, ...GO forth, and DO SO" (I Kg. 22:22).
"He [GOD] turned their heart to HATE HIS PEOPLE..." (Psa. 105:25).
"...Thus said the Lord; Behold, I FRAME EVIL AGAINST YOU, and devise a device
against you..." (Jer. 18:11).
"O LORD, why has THOU MADE US TO ERR from thy ways, and HARDENED OUR HEART from thy
fear?" (Isa. 63:17).
"...so shall the Lord bring upon you ALL EVIL THINGS, until he have destroyed
you..." (Josh. 23:15).
"...shall there be EVIL in a city, and the LORD HAS NOT DONE IT?" (Am. 3:6).
"Thus saith the Lord of hosts... go and SMITE Amelek... DESTROY... SLAY both man and
woman, INFANT AND SUCKLING..." (I Sam. 15:2-3)
A great and wise creator GOD PUT US HERE. He started the human family.
God is not stupid, He had a grand and eternal purpose in mind for making mankind.
God has many attributes, powers, knowledge, etc., that obviously mankind DOES NOT. But,
God DOES WANT us to have those same attributes, especially LOVE!
Qualities of character such as Love are not instantaneously created, they must be
developed. That development takes a creation, circumstances, and time. And so, God
creates all these things necessary for their development.
Although God is GOOD, He nonetheless has a knowledge and understanding of both good AND
EVIL. And so we TOO much come to an understanding of both good and evil. Why? Because ALL
KNOWLEDGE hinges on their proper understanding.
People say things without ever realizing how stupid or impossible their thoughts or
statements are. Most Christians suppose that if Adam and Eve had not sinned, then we all
would STILL, right now, be enjoying the beautiful life of happiness and bliss in a
fabulous garden of Eden. NOT SO!!! Adam and Eve did NOT appreciate what they had with
God in the garden before they sinned. They had NO CONTRAST to compare it with.
Now here is a key piece of understanding and wisdom. God wants CHILDREN. God is building
a FAMILY. Children are to grow up and have the attributes of their parents. But these
things must be LEARNED BY EXPERIENCE! Not only didn't Adam and Eve appreciate what they
had, they ABSOLUTELY COULD NOT have appreciated what they had, because they experienced
ONLY GOOD.
Try to come up with even ONE VIRTUE, such as love, patience, honesty, goodness,
faithfulness, loyalty, obedience, bravery, etc., etc., etc., ANYTHING of a virtuous
nature, that does not involve the overcoming of SOME FORM OF EVIL! There is you answer!
There IS NO VIRTUE, NO CHARACTER, NO STABILITY of any kind in any one, except he
overcomes some form of EVIL.
Now can you see why we are here? Now can you see why there is not only good, but so much
evil in the world? It is necessary! God did not put it here simply to make us miserable!
God is NOT in a battle for supremacy with Satan. God CREATED Satan. God USES Satan. And
Satan too, will be saved after he has done all of his dirty work. God will make him
repent.
God is enlarging His family into BILLIONS of sons and daughters. This life is part of
the training ground to be the very SONS OF GOD.
All evil including DEATH itself will be abolished when God has used them to bring His
family to a level of love and righteousness that He desires. We will then inherit all
that God has and all that God is. God is truly OUR FATHER.