Answer: Because we Live in a Fallen World
Conflict exists because we live in a fallen world. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, they fell from their original righteousness and communion with God. As a result of the fall, they faced spiritual and physical death. Their relationship with God was broken. The breaking of God’s law had consequences. The world was not as it should be. As a result of Adam’s sin, we live in a world that has conflict, death, selfishness, and hate.
Sometimes conflict comes because of the sin of others. People may wrong us although we have been acting righteously. Other times, we are reaping what we personally sowed (even if our contribution to the problem is only 1%). But all the time, conflict is an opportunity to glorify God in how we respond.
Our Hope: a God who Intervenes
Even after Adam and Eve disobeyed God, God himself promised that he would crush Satan and remove the curse (Genesis 3:14-15). Ever since the fall, God’s plan has been to remove the curse and restore what was broken. Because we have a God who intervenes, we have hope.
Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the promise from Genesis 3. Two thousand years ago, in the fullness of time, He came to pay the penalty of sins, to restore our relationship to God the Father. Because he was a perfect sacrifice, being both God and man, he was able to pay the penalty of our sins, nailing our sins upon the cross (Colossians 2:13-14). Those who have Christ are no longer are we slaves to sin. No longer do we need to hide from God and hide our nakedness. We can be open about our sin, because he has clothed us with his righteousness.
When Jesus died, he exclaimed, “it is finished.” Our debt from sin has been paid in full. Christ has purchased us for himself (Titus 2:13-14). Yet, until Christ returns, we do not see the full consummation of everything being subject to Christ. We wait in groaning until Christ returns to make all things right (Romans 8:18-25).
And even as we wait, we pray that we would reflect the character of Christ. We pray for God’s kingdom to come. Conflict is used by God to purify us, to make us more like the image of Jesus Christ. God uses conflict to strengthen our perseverance, faith, hope, and love. He uses it in the process of sanctification, to make us more into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ. May God continue to purify our hearts and mold us into his image.