Why Did God Create Mankind if He Knew Man Would Sin?

Ask me who made God, why suffering is in the world, or why God allows evil, and I will answer you quicker than the government gives away our tax dollars. But ask me why God created mankind even though He knew man would sin, and I hesitate.

I know the pat answer. God knew that man would sin, but by allowing it to happen He was able to show the redeemed how much He loved us. But that answer seems incomplete to me because the pain of sin is so great, both in this life and in the next. I suspect that I’m missing some information that I probably won’t discover until after I die. But not having the complete answer now doesn’t worry me. Let me tell you why.

When I was a child, my father beat me, left my mom, and once killed a defenseless animal with his bare hands. With that information you could be quite justified in saying that my father was an abusive pig of a man.

But you’re missing some information. He physically corrected me when I lied or stole. He left Mom because he worked long hours to financially take care of his beloved family. When he found a helpless dying animal on the side of the road, he put the poor animal out of its misery, and it grieved him to do so. The missing information shows that my dad was a very loving man.

Such knowledge of the kindness of my heavenly Father tides me over until He chooses to answer the questions I can’t.

It’s easy for some to paint God as a tyrant because He made man knowing that man would sin. But they deliberately forget that God lavished His kindness on us by giving us life, eyes to see the sunrise, ears to hear the birds, taste buds to enjoy good food, and so many other good things, which we rarely even recognize (Psalm 68:19; Romans 14:17).

But I know something else about this all-wise, all-powerful, incredibly kind God. He is also a God of justice. His very nature demands both perfect justice and perfect love. So what did God do about man’s sin? He gave His life on an unspeakably cruel cross, taking the punishment for our sin, so that we could escape being justly punished in hell.

The Bible tells us that all of us are desperately wicked and deserving of hell. We broke God’s Law (the Ten Commandments). Yet Jesus paid our fine, knowing every sin we would commit before He made us. Because of His sacrifice, He can legally dismiss our case. Upon our repentance and faith in Jesus, we can leave the courtroom innocent. He invites all of us to receive this free gift.

Such knowledge of the kindness of my heavenly Father tides me over until He chooses to answer the questions I can’t.