This week, I’ve been reflecting on God’s goodness and why so many believe He uses both good and evil—especially when Jesus revealed a God who operates solely in goodness.

It’s a genuine question that has lingered heavily on my heart lately, especially since this new "goodness journey" with God (watch it here).

Why?

Because you'll never see Jesus defend, befriend, or send evil—He came to end it. Yet some of us argue otherwise, as if we know God’s nature better than Jesus Himself.

In trying to guard against error, we argue against the nature of God revealed in Jesus, insisting that He creates, partners with, or causes evil. But in rejecting Jesus' revelation of God—who never did those things—we're already in error.

So it’s a question that has lingered heavily on my heart.

As I was playing with my kids this morning, Holy Spirit asked me, “When have you seen something like this before—one being purely good and the other a mix of good and evil?”

Immediately, I thought, “The trees in Eden!”

Instantly, I saw the resemblance, and that’s when it hit me—this is an ancient deception that still clouds our view of God today.

The greatest deception wasn’t just eating the fruit—it was believing God wasn’t fully good.

And that same deception continues today when we say God creates, partners with, or causes evil. By doing so, we mix evil with His perfect goodness—just like the Tree of the Knowledge was mixed with good and evil, distorting humanity's view of God.

When we believe God needs evil, we start calling darkness divine.

But God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5).

The tree you eat from shapes the way you see God. And the God you see shapes the fruit in your life.

Let’s return to the beginning and rediscover the truth that still sets us free today.

There are two dominant views in Christianity today:

1. God causes both good and evil. He partners with darkness and needs evil in order to fulfil His divine plan.

2. God is only good, and He never needs evil. Instead of using darkness, He redeems it because He is fully light and fully good.

At first glance, these might seem like theological debates.

But what if they go deeper—back to the very beginning? What if these two views reflect the same choice given in the Garden of Eden?

In Eden, there were two trees:

• The Tree of Life – a picture of pure goodness, union with God, and eternal flourishing.

• The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil – a mixed perspective, where both good and evil are part of the equation.

The tree you eat from determines the God you see.

The first tree represents life as God intended—where His goodness is all we know.

The second represents a way of seeing the world apart from Him—where good and evil are intertwined, creating confusion, fear, and separation.

When you believe God needs evil, you start calling darkness divine.

Some might ask, “Did God create evil when He placed the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the garden?”

The answer is no.

• God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)

• Evil is not a created thing; it is the absence of good—just like darkness is the absence of light.

The tree itself wasn’t evil. It simply represented choice.

When Adam and Eve ate from it, they stepped into a reality where both good and evil existed—one where they could now experience evil, rather than simply living in the goodness of God.

Evil isn’t something God orchestrates; it’s something He redeems.

C.S. Lewis put it this way:

"If a thing is to be free to be good it is also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible."

God didn’t place evil in the garden—He placed freedom. But with that freedom came the possibility of choosing something outside of Him.

When Adam and Eve ate, everything changed.

• They saw themselves as naked—before, they were clothed in glory.

• They hid in fear—before, they walked in perfect fellowship with God.

• They saw God differently—before, they only knew Him as good; now, they saw Him through the lens of fear, shame, and judgment.

The knowledge of good and evil didn’t make man wiser—it made him afraid.

The knowledge of good and evil made man aware of a dualistic world, and then formed a dualistc god in their minds. They now had to wrestle with questions like:

• “Does God bring suffering?”
• “Is He both light and dark?”
• “Can I really trust Him?”

And today, we’re still asking the same questions.

Trust in God dies when you believe He orchestrates your suffering.

Jesus came to restore what was lost in Eden. He didn’t just offer forgiveness—He offered life.

• "I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly." (John 10:10)

• "For He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son." (Colossians 1:13)

The cross wasn’t just about getting rid of sin—it was about restoring access to the Tree of Life.

But here’s the challenge: Many of us still eat from the wrong tree, so to speak.

• We try to balance good and evil, believing God needs both to work His plan.

• We see suffering as something God causes, rather than something He redeems.

• We hold onto a distorted view of God—one where we question whether He is truly, completely good.

You can’t live in peace while feeding on both good and evil.

Jesus is the Tree of Life.

He is the only one we can "eat from" to truly know the Father. No one else—no philosophy, no religious system, no human reasoning—can fully reveal God’s nature.

Jesus made this clear when He said:

• “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)

• "Nobody knows the Father except the Son." (Matt 11:27)

If we want to know what God is like, we don’t look at our circumstances, human theology, or the mixture of good and evil in the world. We look at Jesus.

• He never made anyone sick—He healed.

• He never partnered with darkness—He cast it out.

• He never confused suffering with God’s will—He destroyed the works of the devil.

Any view of God that doesn’t align with Jesus is eating from the wrong tree. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil distorted God’s character—Jesus restores it.

And Jesus is where we must start when it comes to understanding and explaining God's nature.

At the end of the day, there are only two options:

1. God causes both good and evil to fulfill His plan.

2. God is only good, and He never needs evil.

Only one of these aligns with Jesus—the Tree of Life. The other does not. It cannot be both.

"Okay, I get it. So how do we read and interpret scripture through Jesus then, especially tough passages?"

You can read about it here: How To Read The Bible With & Through Jesus

Moses once stood before Israel and said:

"I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life." (Deuteronomy 30:19)

That choice still stands today.

• We can eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, believing that God works through darkness.

• Or we can eat from the Tree of Life, seeing Him as pure goodness, with no shadow of turning (James 1:17).

What if God really is only good?

What if we stopped trying to explain evil as part of His plan and started seeing it as something He came to destroy? (1 John 3:8)

What if we trusted Him enough to stop eating from the wrong tree?

God doesn’t need darkness to reveal His light—He is light—and darkness doesn't make a light shine brighter.

The greatest deception wasn’t eating the fruit—it was believing God wasn’t fully good.

The choice is ours.

God is better than we think, Jesus proves it. Our challenge is actually believing it.

Related reading:

• How To Read The Bible With & Through Jesus

• Does God Create Evil? Answering Isaiah 45:7

• The Bible Contradicts Itself—And You Better Not Fall For It

• The Suffering Syndrome: Blaming God for the Devil’s Work

• Is God Actually Like Jesus? The OT and God's Nature

• "God Allowed It" – The Phrase That's Twisting God's Goodness