Imperfect

Today's passage: Micah 2
     Why did God create Satan?  Why did he allow evil into the world?  He didn't have to.  He could have created Adam and Eve without a free will.  They could have lived in the Garden of Eden, sinlessly, enjoying perfection, having children who would not have murdered each other.  Sounds a bit like Heaven.  Why did He even create earth to begin with?  He has Heaven.  It is a perfect, beautiful place.  Why would he create a human race which mostly refuses to give Him the worship He deserves, which refuses to even recognize he is the Creator of the Universe?  It seems to me,  we are a nuisance. 
     In the beginning of this passage, Nahum warns against those who constantly devise evil. I hope I am not one of the people he is referring to, who spends every waking thought trying to get away with something, and encouraging others to do so too.  Why wouldn't God just get rid of those people?  Terrorist groups who want to blow everyone away in the name of their god, drug cartels who murder everyone in their paths to obtain illegal substances, organized crime groups who want to control establishments and streets.  These are the kinds of people I think about always devising evil.  Get rid of them, God.  Just do away with them. "Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time is evil."
     I think perhaps our world has not completely gone to a computerized, robotic age, because it would be devoid of human emotion.  God says He made us in His image.  He wants us to feel something, because He feels too (although His emotion is perfect, unlike ours.)  But why free will?  Probably nothing gives me more joy than when my son does something out of pure love for me rather than being told to do it.  If I had to tell him to kiss me, to hug me, to pick me a flower and he did it cooperatively, without any attitude, it still would not hold the same meaning as when he takes the initiative to do these things himself.  When he chooses to show me his love, it means so much more.
      God loves us, but He wants us to choose to love Him.  He wants us to overcome the obstacles and choose Him.  He wants those who have made bad choices to make a change and show Him their love.  He wants every terrorist, every drug dealer, every gang member to put down their weapons and follow Him.  Without valleys, there would be no hills, without rain, there would be no sunshine.  Without evil, we could not recognize the good. Without imperfections, we would not notice perfection.  And God is perfection.  God created this sin-cursed earth with imperfect people so that we would recognize how gracious, how merciful, how perfect He really is.  We can appreciate the beauty and sinlessness of Heaven because we have spent time on an imperfect earth.  We can exchange filthy sin rags for garments of righteousness.  Every one of us has choices to make.  Evildoers made choices along the way that caused them to be on their current paths.  We all have the potential of choosing wickedness.  We all have it in us to be "devisers of evil".  It is only through choosing God's plan of salvation, His plan for growth, that we can be anything other than what we are.  He gave us free will so we can freely and willingly choose Him.
     Note:  On this particular day, I mistakenly thought I was in Nahum, and posted the whole passage as such.  I actually read from Micah 2 that day.  God never makes mistakes, even in what Scripture we read each day.