Suffering is a part of life. It is what the human race has been exposed to because of sin. To understand Christianity and to understand why Jesus Christ had to die on the cross for our sins we must look back to the very first book in the Bible.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
-Genesis 3:6
The first sin was Adam and Eve's disobedience of God, where they ate the fruit from the tree. They were deceived by the serpent (Satan). This is of course, one of the most popular Bible passages. But it is the problem. As with anything in life that needs a solution, there has to be a problem. At first, God gave his people the law. He gave the Ten Commandments to Moses. This was done to show that man cannot keep the law. It was given to show the people of God that sin was in the hearts of man and righteousness was a more than difficult task to achieve.
God then saw that man was ready to receive more than just the law. He saw that the first covenant was not good enough and that another one must be made. As the prophets of the Old Testament proclaimed, a savior was to come. And his name was and still is Jesus Christ. Through Jesus' suffering and death, our sins were purged, as long as we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior.
But skeptics may argue that if God really did love humanity, He would destroy all evil and bring good back into the world. In regards to this type of thought, we must understand that sin (a.k.a. evil) was put in the hearts of man from the very beginning and that to destroy all evil, would be to destroy humanity.
God Does Not Cause Evil
As you look around the world, you may see children suffering and innocent people dying while the gluttonous, unrighteous men and women continue to prosper. This is the result of evil being brought into this world. Evil does exist and God allows it because He loves us enough to not want to punish us for it. That is why sent His only Son to die for us.
But God commandeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
-Romans 5:8-9
This passage tells that God will destroy evil. The "wrath" spoken of is the time of judgment where God will wipe out humanity and the unrighteous. However, He is giving us the chance to repent and to make amends. He has given us a savior, Jesus Christ. That by his blood and sacrifice, if we accept him as the Son of God, we will be saved.
So, do not look back to the Old Testament and see the law given to Moses and the way to be saved. Look to what it means and what is has taught us about the history of God and man. Understand that God does not cause evil and will not allow it but before He destroys it, He is giving us a chance. I cannot stress enough how important it is to believe in Jesus Christ as the Savior of mankind. He is the one way ticket to Heaven.
Philosophy
I'm going to do something I rarely do and that is take a look at this now from a philosophic approach.
God is an eternal being. He is not affected by time and is all-powerful, incapable of causing evil. He has the power to destroy evil though.
So why would he not do it?
Because he does not want all of his creation to suffer for He loves us.
The Bible tells us that God has sent us a message that righteousness through God's law is difficult to achieve...but that He is also a forgiving God and is willing to purge us of all sin and evil if we believe on His Son as Lord and Savior.
Okay, that's a handful, but what about time? It's been 2,000 years since Christ died and the Bible tells that Jesus will return quickly. Good point...or wait, maybe not. Let's take a step back...God is eternal after all. Time does not affect God.
Perhaps there is a passage in the Bible about this?
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
-2 Peter 3:8
IN FACT, there are two...
For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
-Psalm 90:4
Essentially, a day in the life of God is like 1,000 years to man. So folks, Jesus will indeed come quickly as he said.
Therefore, summing it all up: God is set to destroy humanity, all evil. That means all the evil that causes children to suffer and innocent people to die daily will be cast out and destroyed. But since we are all born into sin, it is man who will suffer this fate. That is, unless you take Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, the redeemer given to man by God. Jesus is the Son of God, sacrificed for all of humanity. Much like Abraham was ready to sacrifice his own son to God, Jesus was sent for us.
God bless and have a wonderful day.
No comments:
Post a Comment