The parasite Cyclospora has been in the news all summer.

Now, what does a parasite have to do with a children’s ministry blog? Well, this parasite made hundreds of people across the United States sick (and caused many to avoid buying lettuce at the grocery store!). It’s just one much-talked-about example of sickness, disease, and suffering in our world. How do we explain suffering—and the existence of pathogens—in a world created by a good God?

Well, we start with the big picture given to us in God’s Word: God created a perfect world that was later marred by human sin. Everything was “very [exceedingly] good.” Now all of creation is groaning.

We know from Scripture that Cyclospora was not making people sick before the Fall. There were no nasty parasites causing sickness in God’s original “very good” creation. It was a perfect world, but then sin entered creation. The Bible says it’s now a groaning, fallen world. The harm parasites cause, and all other death and suffering, are only here because of our sin.

Children absolutely need to know this. In a fallen world, everyone will suffer. And this suffering often raises questions of why. We must help children build a proper theology of suffering so they can view any pain they experience through the lens of Scripture.

God’s creation is amazing, and as those who teach children, we often want to use creation to highlight the handiwork of the Creator so children understand that there is a God who made us—and that’s a good thing! But we can’t stop there, because creation is beautiful and God has made it evident to all through the things He’s made that He’s the Creator... but creation is also broken and groaning. We must help children understand that we can still see a remnant of beauty in what once was a very good world, but that creation is marred because of sin.

Now, if you’re wondering what exactly happened biologically to turn “very good” creatures into disease-causing nightmares . . . the short answer is that we don’t know for sure what exact biological mechanisms turned parasites nasty. We do know there were at least some biological modifications at the time of the Fall (e.g., thorns and thistles and the serpent being cursed above all the cattle and beasts of the field), so it’s possible that other creatures, including microscopic ones, were physically changed by God at the Fall to allow them to continue to survive in a fallen world.

It’s also possible that mutations (genetic mistakes) and genetic losses contributed, or that some creatures simply became parasitic with little to no adjustment (even evolutionists, who also have to explain the origin of parasites, believe creatures could have become parasitic with few changes). More research is needed, but as always, when we have questions about the past, we start with the eyewitness account in God’s Word.

You can learn more about equipping children with a biblical worldview in all areas (including the origin of sickness and disease) by visiting our website at AnswersInGenesis.org.

Avery Foley is a writer and speaker for Answers in Genesis, the Creation Museum, and the Ark Encounter. She and her husband are homeschool parents to six young children and the producers of Building Blocks, a chronological walk through the Bible for kids on Answers.tv.

Ken Ham is the Founder and CEO of Answers in Genesis, the ministry behind the Creation Museum, the Ark Encounter, Answers Bible Curriculum for churches, and the best-selling Answers VBS.