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In a previous blog we talked about the problem of evil in the world, so I won’t re-hash that here. Instead, this week I’m going to focus on how evil came into the world to begin with.

When the world was created, everything was perfect! Just imagine it - no sickness, no death, no evil people, and - though the Bible doesn’t tell us this for sure - no mosquito bites! (I’m sitting outside on my deck as I write this and getting bitten by mosquitoes but still trying to enjoy the nice weather.) There was nothing wrong with the world at the time of Creation. So what happened? Why do we have sickness and death and evil people and mosquito bites in the world today?

The answer lies in Genesis chapter 3. We read there about how the serpent (the devil) came to Eve and tempted her. Eve was deceived to believe that she could be like God if she ate the fruit of that one tree - the only tree that God commanded her and Adam not to eat from. Eve, being human, desired to be like God and have that knowledge the serpent promised her. So she ate the fruit, and gave some to Adam too. Once they ate it, their eyes were opened and they suddenly realized their shame.

In that act, mankind was changed forever. Now evil came to mankind, and Adam and Eve would begin to experience pain and need to work hard at life. No longer would they be able to have a completely pure relationship with God, but they would be separated from Him by the sin they committed. It was an entirely new experience for them at the time, and I imagine they definitely had some regret and longing for the perfect world they once lived in!

We live in that new world as well, and we experience evil all the time. Just look at any news website or watch any news broadcast on TV and you’ll see the evil of mankind firsthand. Because of that first sin of Adam and Eve, there is wrongdoing and sickness and pain and death in the world we live in.

If that sounds depressing to you, take heart - there is a world to come where we can again experience that perfect, evil-free world one day! Those of us who believe in Jesus Christ as our savior will experience that perfect life in heaven one day, and for all of eternity. We have evil for a short time during this life, but we have the hope of an evil-free eternity with God.