God, humanity, and the bad guy
Martha Olawale
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10
When I think of the dynamics of the world, I see three players in the story: God, humanity, and the devil. God is always good; He loves humanity, and the devil is always on the opposite side, constantly trying to destroy humanity. Narrowing it down to these makes it easier to define things and assign them roles in everyday occurrences.
God is fully love-defined, and He is also a God of order because, in the absence of order, the devil quickly rears his ugly head. When He created humanity, He gave us the power to manage all He made before them. He prepared the world for us even before we got to the party. God told Adam and Eve in Genesis 1: 29-30, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.”
We are not onlookers in the story of our existence; we are co-creators with God to nurture our world because God’s creative nature is woven into every fiber of our being. God said in Genesis 1:28, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” How we do that job determines how we enjoy the fruits from planting and harvesting times, and how we treat one another determines whether we live in peace or chaos. God is constant in His role, and unfortunately, so is the devil, but we humans are the flip-floppers, changing our allegiance and navigating life without heeding caution signs.
The role of God is written in love, spelled out with the blood of the Lord Jesus. He gives life, peace, joy, grace, and eternal rest. Speaking of Himself and countering the destructive agenda of the devil, Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
Knowing these, as children of God, we are not unaware of the devil’s devices. When bad things happen in our lives and the world, we know who’s behind them, and when good things are happening, we also know who to thank for them because when we cooperate with the laws of life and godliness, God is committed to breathing life into all that concerns us. 2 Corinthians 2:11 states, “So that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.”
