Welcome to Kolayah.com

I have been asked a number times, "Why does God allow death, disaster, crime, and the like, if he is a loving God?" So I have created this page, so your questions may be answered. This study is bible based. However, I will make comments from my personal understanding so that you may gain some insights. I will be addressing these two main questions:

1. Why has He created us with a choice?

2. Why does God not interfere and save the world from all its troubles?

I must say I do not have all of the answers. If you have more questions on the topic after reading this page, join the conversation on Facebook.

Ultimately just keep in mind, God knows best.

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Q: Why does God create us with a choice?

In Genesis 1:26-27 it says:

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:26-27 ESV)

There is one thing we need to keep in mind. Most of us understand that there is a difference between love, and true love. We all want that true love. This is just one of the ways we are made in God's image, He wants our true love. God has this true love for us; He wants us to make our own choices. In the Garden of Eden, He placed the tree of life in the middle the Garden of Eden as well as the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Why didn't God just make us to only do good things?

I will try my best to explain how God's true love is shown to us not only by His holiness, but by providing a tree which not only open our eyes to good things, but also to evil things. If there was only good and no evil, we would not know good and we would not be able to choose it. He didn't want us to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and of evil, and to know evil. Rather, knowing that Eve would eat of the tree, He put it there. You see, having the choice Not to eat of the tree, is all the evil that was necessary to choose good. However, once she chose to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and of evil, her mind was opened up to the full potential of evil.

If we were created in a world with no choice, here is what would happen:

There would be no such thing as anything evil. God would be the only choice, there would be no choice. We wouldn't be giving our lives freely to Him with true love; we would just serve Him because we would have no choice. We would be kind of like a robot. Created with no choice of what we want to do. In that life, true love would not exist. True love requires choice! It is, in fact, our decision ...a true gift from the Father!

As it is, God chose to give us choice like He has choice. He made us in His image! In order to truly love Him, we need to be able to relate to Him.

If we serve Him, we get the things that He has prepared for us. I would like to describe what we get, but the bible says in 1st Corinthians 2:9:

9 But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—

(1 Corinthians 2:9 ESV)

God does let some people try to describe, but still no one can really describe how great the reward is. God can only make right choices. He can only choose what is best for us. God being our creator, knows that heaven is a place we all will truly love.

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Q: If God wants what is best for us, than why does He not keep us protected?

First of all, God did not intend for Kings, Governments, etc. His plan was to be THE sovereign ruler and King of His people. In 1 Samuel 8 we read:

1 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel.

2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba.

3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.

4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah

5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.”

6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the LORD.

7 And the LORD said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.

8 According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you.

9 Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”

10 So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking for a king from him.

11 He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots.

12 And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots.

13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.

14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants.

15 He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants.

16 He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work.

17 He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves.

18 And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day.”

19 But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us,

20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

21 And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the LORD.

22 And the LORD said to Samuel, “Obey their voice and make them a king.” Samuel then said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.”

(1 Samuel 8 ESV)

This is why we are not protected by God fully. The children of Israel chose what they thought was best for them, instead of what God knows was best for them. Therefore God stepped back (like a gentleman) and let them have a man for a king. Remember He gave us all a choice.

Due to the children of Israel choosing to have a king for protection (instead of God), it reduced the safety of the people (because He would not hear their complaints about their king). It even affects us to this day.

God made sure to let them know that once they chose a king, He would not give them His full protection. Because the king would become their protection. He also told them He would not be answering their cries to Him in those areas (as He previously did).

Today, when we follow the World, instead of God, we reject God as our king, just like the children of Israel did back then, and step out from under God's care. Now, if we choose God as our King, then we get to enjoy His full protection. There has always been a choice, all the way from the very beginning.

In the beginning when He made Adam and Eve to have a choice for The Tree of life (with God) or a tree of knowledge good and evil (notice the word good was a part of the tree. Showing there would still be a Savior available to the world).

Now, we can have a way to Him again, Jesus. He came to the world and died so we could choose Him again no matter what we have done. As the Bible says:

"Whoever believes in him is not condemned..." (John 3:18a ESV)

The Scripture also says:

"...but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."

(John 20:31 ESV)

You might say; "I'm a good person, I do good things. That's all I have to do to get to heaven."

Here is what the bible says:

"...but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." (John 3:18b ESV)

A part of believing is, that you must have Jesus as King in your life. When you believe, you receive His gift of a life uncondemed, and eternal life with Him. God still truly loved us, and He gave us His only son to die for us.

Now in order to be protected, you must have Jesus Christ as your King in your life (in doing that you accept Him). You also must have faith in the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Doing that is just a part of believing in Him.

Another way of having Jesus as King in your life is making Him first in your life. For example; Reading the Bible in the morning is a way of making Him first. When reading your bible, you will see the principles we should follow. You must make Him first in your life in order to get His full benefits.

We must obey God in all things, even if we think something else is better. When you let him be King, His way will always be the best way. He is loving, and understanding, and is willing to have us if we choose Him. Therefore if we choose God, then we will have the full protection of God, as we obey him.

One of the dangers of living in the world is that the Government is trying to reject the Bible (Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit) so God is not giving them His full protection. In this case you see He is stepping away from those who don't want Him and He lets us freely chose like a gentleman should.

That's just another problem caused by man, not God.

Q: But why does He allow disaster like storms to kill innocent people?

No one, but one man on the earth has ever been innocent. The one man is Jesus. God has never killed anyone innocent and never will. One of the meanings of innocent is "with no sin."

Now if you are referring to Christians, understand that we all have a time on this earth. Even people without Jesus as King have a time limit. God decides when it is our time to leave the earth.

Not all people who call themselves Christians are actually are. The way we can tell if someone is a Christian is found in 1st John 4:8:

"Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love."

(1 John 4:8 ESV)

Christians who aren't loving (agappe) are not considered Christian according to God. Keep this in mind when judging between the two.

Those who love God have lost nothing when a disaster happens. In fact they have gained their reward.

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (1 John 2:15 ESV)

One of the rewards of being a Christian is, there is no more death. Death means separation. We were made by God to be in communion with Him, so once we are in relation with Him there is no more separation. When we leave this body, we are simply translated to His home in Heaven; because we will be in heaven. When we are left on earth when our loved one dies, we are left because God still has a plan for our lives that needs fulfilled. God wants us all to go, that's why He works on us. As the Bible says:

"The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." (2 Peter 3:9 ESV)

He gives Christians a chance for change. An unbelieving person has a chance to change too. He gives us many opportunities to accept Him. He makes sure to give us plenty of time as well, and He tells us that we need to do to be ready for Him. Jesus says:

" Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. " (Revelation 3:3 ESV)

If we choose to ignore God's call then He will step back like a gentleman and let us run our lives until we want Him to be our King. But we better be ready, because He can come at any moment. Time is not an issue for God, in heaven there is no such thing as time.

" But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." (2 Peter 3:8 ESV)

Peter gives this example to show that God does not have a significant date planed, He will come when He is ready.

Remember what God's word says in 2nd Peter 3:9:

" The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. " (2 Peter 3:9 ESV)

Q: Why does God allow evil people to live?

Jesus says in 1st Peter 3:9:
"Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing." (1 Peter 3:9 ESV)

If He killed them, that would make Him an unfair god. Because He would not be giving them the same mercy He gives us all. He does not favor one person over another.

As Romans 2:11 says:

"For God shows no partiality." (Romans 2:11 ESV)

The sad thing is that a lot of times people decide to sin, and with sin comes pain for other people. God wants us to choose right. If we choose right and obey God, we will always be happy.

Remember God's will was not for us to live our lives in pain and death. But Adam and Eve chose to eat the fruit; which gave Satan power to hurt us. People continue to eat the fruits of sin which gives Satan the same power as he had in the beginning. But God, still loving us, gave us Jesus to save us from that sin.

He gave His life as a sacrifice (an innocent death), for all who choose to believe in Him.

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"...choose this day whom you will serve... But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15 ESV)

Now that I have shown Him to you (again or for the first time), God knows I've shown you. It is time for you to make a decision.

We can choose Satan's way with pain and suffering, or choose Jesus. Jesus will protect you when you ask him to. Listen to him. He will direct you in the best way. Remember He has made for us a way that is best for human kind, and that is to make our time with Him fully wonderful on to eternity!

Always know true happiness and peace can only be found through faith in Jesus Christ.

Thank you for reading this website,

Feel free to join the conversation on Facebook.

I hope and want you to have a better understanding!

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