We are always puzzled by the existence of evils in the presence of an almighty and benevolent God. Greek philosophers had long ago questioned this concept of God. If God were almighty, He would stop the evils and sufferings in this world. He had not. Therefore, either God were not almighty or that He were not benevolent. God could not be both. This logic is simple and powerful. Many people subscribe to this argument and drive God out of their consciousness. However, to quote Einstein, "Raffiniert ist der Herr Gott, aber boshaft ist er nicht (Subtle is the Lord God, but malicious He is not)".
Today, we read of the story of the three companions of Daniel. They were Hananiah (aka Shadrach), Mishael (aka Meshach), and Azariah (aka Abednego) of the tribe of Judah (Daniel 1:6). They were young men carried away from Jerusalem and sent into exile when Babylon conquered Judah. Previously, King Nebuchadnezzar was disturbed by a strange dream. He dreamt of a statue made up of gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay.
The head of this image was of fine gold, its breast and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze,
its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay (Daniel 2:32-33).
Then this statue was smashed by a stone into pieces and the stone became a great mountain. Daniel interpreted this dream of King Nebuchadnezzar and was made the chief prefect over all the wise men in Babylon. He served the King in the court while his three companions were appointed over the affairs in the province of Babylon (Daniel 2:48-49).
Ironically, King Nebuchadnezzar built a gold statue and decreed that all should fall down to worship this statue. Whoever did not obey would be thrown into a a burning fiery furnace (Daniel 3:4-6). Of course, the three young men did not obey. Here was their logic.
If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.
But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up (Daniel 3:17-18).
If God is able to save them, God will deliver them. Even if God, for some grander reasons, does not save them from this evil, they will still not worship the golden image. It is against their faith and their conscience. For these three young men, their faith was more important than their lives. They were prepared to die a martyrdom.
Eventually, they were bound and thrown into the furnace. God sent an angel to protect them from the heat. King Nebuchadnezzar saw four people walking freely in the furnace unharmed by the fire. At the command of the King, the three young men came out unscathed.
And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men; the hair of their heads was not singed, their mantles were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them (Daniel 3:27).
This story comes to its natural conclusion. Once again, God demonstrates that He is almighty as well as benevolent.
Nebuchadnezzar said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set at nought the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God." (Daniel 3:28)
What conclusion can we draw from this story?
God allows evils to exist in order to demonstrate His might and His love for men. His might is unquestionable. God is in full control. But His love? The God of the Bible gives the people He loves sufferings. This mystery is harder to swallow. But Job provides us with an answer.
Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? (Job 2:10)
Very often, suffering is a blessing in disguise. The Chinese story 「塞翁失馬」is a case in point. Blessing brings suffering and suffering blessing. Together, the two prod us ahead. The Original Sin brought the downfall of man. Without it, God would not bring us Christ's salvation and elevate us from the status of God's pets to God's adopted sons. Alas! Evil is inevitable and let us live with it. It provides us with an opportunity to bring out the dignity and nobility of our souls.
My God, all honour and glory are Yours. You are almighty and benevolent. In Your mercy, we receive salvation. May we make good use of this season of Lent to do penance, sacrifice and almsgiving so that we may come closer to You. Amen.
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