I was a young pastor attending a seminar. The featured speaker opened his mouth to speak, and these were his first words: “You and I are living today in a world God did not make. He allowed it, but He did not make it.” That took place many years ago, but I still remember those words vividly. And, I remember the surprise I felt upon hearing them. It had never occurred to me that there was anything God had not made. I now see very clearly that he was right: “You and I are living today in a world that God did not make. He allowed it, but He did not make it.”

The creation story recorded in the book of Genesis describes a world of beauty and harmony – a world in which every part cooperated with God’s intentions. Everything was exactly what God created it to be. God looked at that world He had …