Why bad things happen...

Why does God allow bad things to happen to innocent people?

This is such an age old question, that is so complex. I have heard some excellent commentary on it lately...the foundation is this:

We (humans) are innately sinful...we are born with a sin nature (Thank you Adam and Eve for the fall of man). It doesn't matter how "good" we are here on Earth, the only one we are to compare ourselves with is Christ...who was perfect. Next to him, we don't even begin to stack up to His perfection.
The hard reality is, we all deserve death...and we all will die in our physical bodies. BUT, we don't have to die spiritually...that is our option. Literally, either we accept Christ as our redeemer and savior...and have eternal life, OR we die not only a physical death...we die a spiritual death too.

So...we are born evil; only Christ can redeem us.

Then, you have the aspect that God gave us free will...basically, we have a choice between Him or the world. Think of it this way...say you are dating someone and you really want them to say those magic words, "I love you." Does it mean more if they truly feel that way and say those words out of love, OR if you tell them, "Tell me you love me right now." Hmmmm...it doesn't mean as much if you force them and demand it from them...get my point?
God wants us to choose Him...He gave us the option, the ability, to choose Him. He doesn't force us into obeying him...we do it because we love Him. So, that's where free will comes in...God doesn't force us to choose Him.

So, what happens when people make their choice...and they choose the world? Let's be honest...
If you don't choose Christ, then you choose the world. If you don't choose Christ, then you don't have the Holy Spirit (whom the Bible calls counselor) to go before you, to help make wise choices that will glorify God. The fruits of the Spirit are talked about in Galations 5...and that is what we are given when we have the Spirit.

At the end of the day...we are sinful human beings...who need a Savior and Redeemer. Bad things happen because EVIL exists...and because God gave us free will. Sure, God allows certain things to occur...that is the hard part to understand. Just re-read Job from the Old Testament...
Bad things happen because evil exists...although God has the power and authority to demand anything He wishes...he also gives us what we ask for. In our culture today, many people do not ask to be apart of Christ and his teachings...they reject him, therefore they play for the evil team. That's why bad things happen...people don't want anything to do with God while on this Earth, but they want everything to do with him afterward.

Finally, we live on Earth...not heaven. Bad things happen because our world has evil present...
heaven does not. Life can be hard...but it is temporary. Heaven and Hell are eternal...
where are you going to spend eternity?