Reincarnation and karma
When I look around in this world, it seems difficult to think of a Loving God. When I would believe that a human being has only one life, and I think of the totally "useless" lives we see around us, when I see the cruelty of some human fates, followed by embitterment, I could not think of a loving God. But when those lives are a period of learning an extremely difficult lesson, I can accept it without any problem. The result is only positive. The Teacher can be a loving Teacher.
Those who do not reject reincarnation know that each human entity develops across many lives. This entity is developing from its conception out of God until it is reunited with God in final enlightenment. The path leads across mountains and through valleys. Development can only happen by falling and getting up again. Let's think of a child that has to find out, where it lives, where its limits are. That finding out is absolutely necessary. But finding out where its limits are, needs trespassing those limits. The same happens in the development of a human Self. It has to find out its limits by trespassing those limits. That is a necessary phase in a perfect development. Every Self has to make its own experiences to learn what is "good" and "bad". Only on the last few steps of the ladder we can advance by longing, by direct insight.
That means, that all the "bad" things we see in this world, are a necessary phase of a good development, and so GOOD, seen from the higher level. That does not mean, that we have to accept the "bad" actions. On the contrary, the transgressing Self needs our human reaction for its own learning. Exactly the same way, we need their human actions for our learning.
Oriental religions speak of "karma". Most often it is called a kind of punishment and when we have accepted all our punishment, we are free and enlightened. I think that is not the way it should be seen. God does not punish. Never. But we do have to take the consequences of our own actions. If, for instance, we are in a position that we kill another human being, that means, that our character has a severe damage somewhere. That damage has to be healed by learning, much learning. And, as we know, learning very often is disagreeable. So when we do something "bad", we will have to go through many difficult and disagreeable situations to heal our wounds. That is what is called the law of karma. Personally I prefer to define karma as the way we still have to go. When we do not follow the right path, we have to accept the detour.
God creates us because He/She want to make all possible experiences and then return to His own Self. Only the difficulties and terrible situations in our lives can lead to the perfect happiness of becoming His Living Memory. So what are we to do in daily life? If we succeed in being very loving, clever, awake, thoughtful, than we can know what is good for us and for humankind. We then do not need to find the limits by trespassing them. When we see, that we are not so clever yet, than perhaps we can see ourselves as the child, making its necessary experiences ..... and loving the child - ourself - on the way.
If possible we should anyhow try to be clever enough to see and use the opportunities to learn.
Obeying commands out of fear does not help us to go on. We cannot grow by obeying commands out of fear... and growing is the only way to arrive.