Did God Mess Up?

Here was another one I posted on my DeviantArt account:

Once again, I'd like to let you know right off the bat that I am no professional on this subject. I can't claim that everything I say is 100% correct, I wish only to discuss thoughts and beliefs. If you have any disagreements, please let me know. In fact, I urge you to respond! I would love to discuss things with you, as I really do wish to learn what you think. I want to see and address other people's points of view as well as my own.

That being said, I will admit that I do believe in God, though I am not trying to use this journal to rub it in, condemn non-believers or force my beliefs on anyone. I don't wish to start an arguement, but a discussion.

"If there is a god, did He mess up?"
The world is pretty messed up, but why?

Lets assume for a moment that there is a god, one who designed the universe. I think it would be safe to say that such a god would be extremely creative. He'd have come up with every last star, every last plant, every last animal and so on, each unique in its own way. (Keep in mind I'm not ruling out the possibility of evolution. I don't personally believe in it, but I'm not going to point a finger and say "YOU'RE ALL WRONG!" Instead, I would like to learn why you believe what you believe, so feel free to discuss. Anyway, as I was saying,) If there were a god, he'd have to be creative.

One thing I personally enjoy doing is creating stories, even more than I enjoy drawing. I'd like to think that God would also enjoy planning and creating stories. Jesus often talked in parables (short stories used to metaphorically illustrate another situation). But any author would know that an interesting story requires a setting, a cast of characters, and a plot.

THE PLOT

Perhaps God, being such a creative being, also knew that to make a glorious story, a plot was necessary. Characters would be created to face terrifying struggles, clash with seemingly-indestructable enemies, fall at times, climb back up at others, and in the end, either stand victorious or fail. Without plot, the story would be boring and irrevelant.

Notice, stories often represent a life-time. They will have a begining, a ton of struggles, and then a conclusion. What would life look like without a plot? How would we live if we didn't face struggles on a daily basis? I don't know about you, but I would be BORED OUT OF MY FRIENDLY MIND!!
But also note, endings aren't always happy. One famous author, a well-known Mr. Shakesphere, often wrote tradgedies; beautiful stories that tend to end with everyone dying. And yet, Shakesphere is still remembered to this day.

Now, I'm not saying God is some cruel person who makes bad things happen to his characters just so he can write an interesting story. But he did give his characters the free-will to decide where they go and what they do, and in doing so, he allowed bad things to happen so there could be consequenses of their actions.

CONSEQUENSE

God allows consequenses in hopes to teach and shape people the way he wants them. As stated in the book, "The Purity Princible" by Randy Alcorn, when a man speeds through the mountains on an icy road and ends up flying off a cliff, God doesn't suddenly invent gravity to punish the foolish driver. Its already in place. Many consequenses are already set in place, so if a person choses to break a rule, he'll suffer and hopefully learn from it.

AIDS for instance, wasn't originally a human disease. It was set in animals, so that if someone chose to break God's rules and sleep with animals, he/she would suffer the consequense. Since then, its also been passed through other sinful sexual acts.

But, sometimes, it can even be passed to the innocent. Why would God allow bad things to happen to innocent people?

CONFLICT

I knew a man once who had been hit by a car. The driver sped away; a hit and run. No one but God will ever know who hit him. But this man woke up in a hospital, saved by a blood donation which was, sadly, contaminated with AIDS. He obviously didn't deserve this, but it happened, and his life had been dramatically reshaped.

I'd like to think that he became a better person because of it. He seemed very humble and kind, one of my mother's best friends. I cannot honestly say I understand all of what God was planning, but you can't deny stories like his are touching. They can be extremely powerful.

I love the movie Bruce Almighty, though it does have some questionable scenes, its chalk full of moral. I remember one deleted scene where God explains to Bruce what His original plan for people was, and how Bruce had altered it by making good things happen to them. Then God proceeded to show Bruce one more person, Lance Armstrong, who was allowed to face some incredibly difficult challenges he didn't deserve. God then told Bruce, "Sometimes to paint a beautiful picture, you have to use some pretty dark colors."

As an artist, I love this quote, and was reminded of it when a friend told me I needed to use a little more black to bring contrast to one of my pictures. I find it incredibly true.

Anyways... yeah... I'm still terrible with concluding things, so... let me know what you think. Feel free to tell me if you think I'm wrong. Ask questions; that's how people learn! What do you guys think?!