One of the books I recently finished is Dorothy Sayer's classic work The Mind of the Maker. I must admit, the book was a little beyond me and I was not quite expecting it to be what it was. However, be that as it may, the book is chalk full of great stuff and the parts that I was able to track with really rang true to me! For example, Sayers takes up the age old question of whether God created Evil. Here's her take:
The reality of Evil is contingent upon the reality of good; and secondly: the Good, by merely occurring, automatically and inevitably creates its corresponding Evil. In this sense, therefore, God, Creator of all things, creates Evil as well as Good, because the creation of a category of Good necessarily creates a category of Not-Good. From this point of view, those who say that God is "beyond Good and Evil" are perfectly right: He transcends both, because both are included within His Being. But the Evil has no reality except in relation to His Good; and this is what is meant by saying that Evil is negation or deprivation of Good. (pg. 102)
What a great assessment of a subject that seems to stump so many! In creating the Good God necessarily creates the Not-Good. Furthermore, as some theologians have noted, perhaps the existence of the Not-Good helps bring the truly Good into sharper contrast. Good and Evil, like dark and light colors in a painting, must be taken into the whole of the work of art in order to be understood. Be it a rather unpopular opinion, I believe this could be what Paul is talking about in Romans 9:22-23.
God paints a rich tapestry! Let's not let our own limitations limit God!
Food for thought!
Michael