Answering the Big "Why"

[This is a repost from my brother's book blog website. I recommend giving it a read through.]


Why Does God Let Earth Be Hell?
A Christian Answer to the Big Question.

Well, you might say that God is a procrastinator. Even the scriptures ask the question over and over, "how long, God, will you let the wicked go free?"

One of God's jobs is the impressive-sounding “Judge of the World,” but He’s been putting off most of His judging duties for some time. How many sins have passed by in the last month without any punishment at all? How many murders, rapes, and thefts? How many lies? How many bits of harmful gossip and slander? How many people cheating on their spouses?
How many times have you wondered why God doesn’t “smoke” that guy or gal you know, the one who makes everyone’s lives hell. You can bet that people who were sexually abused are wondering "where was God in all that?" Hard-workers who are bullied by their bosses would love to have God save the day for once. Genocide victims bleeding to death in a mass grave probably wonder why God seems to have abandoned his judge's bench.

The problem with wishing for a world that’s just and fair, though, is that we ourselves probably wouldn’t survive to see it. The last time God judged all the wicked people in the earth, only eight people and a bunch of animals survived. Would you survive the next judgment?

- Do you give God the respect and recognition He deserves? Do you set aside time for God?
- Do you honor the parents who took care of you when you were helpless?
- Do you take things that don’t belong to you?
- Do you deceive other people with your words, to your own advantage?
- Do you hate people and take joy in their troubles?
- Do you take sexual pleasure in someone (or something) other than your spouse?

You might say, “Well I certainly don’t lie, steal, chew, or run with the girls who do,” but God doesn’t just judge us on the laws we feel like keeping. He has to look at our hearts and cover every area of our conscience—including the commandments we know, but don’t keep.


God's Options for Saving the World

So, God certainly wants to judge the world—righting every wrong and rewarding everything good—but He wants to do it in a way that will leave some survivors. What are some options?

1. Put off judgment forever and let us muddle through as we’re doing now.
2. Decide not to punish sins at all, but rather give mercy to everyone.
3. Find some other way for the punishment to be done so that justice is satisfied.

Though it’s tempting to think that history will keep going on like it is now, with no endpoint or judgment as in #1, God has promised that He will clean and renovate the house. In fact, we have the destruction of the flood as a picture of what the second judgment will be like. People will be going about their daily lives, according to the scriptures, doing business as usual and making plans for the future—and God will pull the brake lever right in the middle of it all.

We also like to dream that #2 is a possibility, though it’s ironic that the people who dream of an infinitely merciful God get really irate when someone pulls in front of them in traffic or cheats them out of some money. However, though God pushes off judgment for as long as He possibly can, it’s part of His character and His job to be just. That is, if He didn’t punish sin eventually, God would be evil, not good. The scriptures tell us that no person in sin can even come into God’s presence—He’s that much of an enemy of sin (aka “holy”).

It’s in option #3 that God is able to be “just and the justifier,” bringing his judgment and his love together. He sent His Son down to earth to be a human being, limited and weak just like us, so that His Son could face all the temptations that we face, yet without sin. Yes, this is Jesus, the promised one. Jesus didn’t do any of the crimes, but He let himself do the time. He took the punishment of death and separation from the Father by His death on the cross, but he hadn’t done anything to deserve it.

In the economy of divine justice, then, Jesus has an enormous line of credit, which He extends to pay for the sins of anyone who comes asking.


How Can I Be Saved?

There are only two conditions for being cleansed of your sins and becoming, fully, a child of God (and no, it’s not “tithing” and practicing “the comb-over”).

The first condition is that you agree with God that He’s the boss of your life and you are not. This is normally called “repentance,” and it’s something God might test to see if you really mean it. It’s helpful sometimes to tell God (and tell yourself) that you give Him the rights to your life (which are rightfully His anyway).

The second condition is that you take God at His word when He offers you forgiveness, or anything else for that matter. That’s normally called faith, and it’s easier than you think. When my children even suspect that I have a treat for them (even if I don’t), they won’t rest until I have given it to them or convinced them, through many proofs, that the treat doesn’t exist. How much more should we pester God to give us the treats He clearly says that He has for us?

What should believe Him for and pester Him for?
- First, the forgiveness of all our past sins (even the “unforgivable” ones), which He gives us through Jesus.
- How about the promise of the Holy Spirit, who is the very Spirit of God Himself who comes to live in us, teach us, train us, and comfort us?
- Then the character qualities that the Spirit creates in us to take the place of sinful habits, things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control.
- And the spiritual gifts (low-key “superpowers”) that the Spirit gives us and helps us use as we help and strengthen other people.
- And the privilege of working with God to bring more people under the forgiveness of Christ, which means fewer people still under the looming judgment of God.
- And definitely we should believe for His return, the long awaited judgment, and the restored universe that is finally free of the pain that comes through sin.

The most of history that any one of us sees is still a narrow slice, maybe about 75 years, but God sees the beginning and the end and all the mess in the middle, all at one time. And He has spoken clearly about the important issues of sin and judgment and forgiveness, demonstrating the truth of His word through many proofs, including raising Jesus from the dead. God only hides these things from the proud, and He even gives them blasts from the divine intercom several times in their lives.

So the question is, are you going to submit to the Lordship of Christ, humble yourself, and receive the bailout that He bled to give you? Or would you rather remain king of your own life, with all the sin that goes with it? On the one side, you have your Creator reaching out His hands for you, offering the relationship that’s closer than any other. On the other side, you have a few years of vanity on earth, and then the leap, of your own accord, into that fiery pit that can finally, fully hide you from the face of God.

If you have some legitimate questions (no flames or smokescreens, please), please email them to me. If you like, you can include your phone number in the email (some people prefer talking to writing). Seek God now so that your life can be “righteous” in every sense of the word.