Mothers leave their newborn babies for dead in the trash. Federal Courthouses get bombed by angry, radical revolutionaries. Cold-blooded high school students open-fire on their classmates at point-blank range. Suicidal terrorists hijack commercial jets filled with passengers and fly them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Such deplorable acts of evil as these leave countless onlookers asking, "Where was God when this happened?" or "Why didn't God stop this?"
God loves us indeed (Deut. 7:8; 23:5; 33:3; Isa. 43:4; 63:9; Jer. 31:3; Hos. 11:4; 14:4; Zeph. 3:17; John 3:16; Rom. 5:8; 8:38-39; 1 John 4:7-12), but He also created the potential for evil. When He created the angels in heaven, He made them free moral agents. One of them was named Lucifer, or "Morning Star." Out of his God-given free will, he became proud and insubordinate, wanting to be God's equal. As a result, he was purged from heaven to earth (Isa. 14:12-16; Ezek. 28:13-16). Today he is known as Satan, or the devil (Job 1:7; 2:2; 2 Cor. 11:14; Jam. 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:8-9; Rev. 12:9-12). Some of the evil in the world today is the direct result of his work (Job 1:12-19; 2:7; Luke 22:3-4, 31; 1 Thes. 2:18), but sadly, God gets blamed for it sometimes.
Likewise, God created Adam and Eve as free moral agents with the ability to choose evil or good (Gen. 2:15-17). With help from the devil, they chose evil (3:1-6) and brought the curse of sin into the world (vv. 14-19). As a result, all human beings are born with a sinful nature (Jer. 17:9; Luke 5:8; Rom. 5:12-14; 1 Tim. 1:15; 1 John 1:8). That means we all have the natural-born will to live in sin, and oppose God (Pss. 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Isa. 53:6; Rom. 3:10-12, 23). There are no "innocent" people in this world by God's standards. That's why no human being is entitled to a life without suffering or sorrow in this present world (John 16:33). That's the bad news.
The good news is that we have hope! God has provided a way for us to enter into a new world where there will be no suffering (Rom. 8:18-21), no sorrow (Rev. 21:1-4), no devil (Rom. 16:20; Rev. 12:12; 20:10), and no death (1 Cor. 15:54-55). The only way to gain access into this new world is through Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Tim. 2:5). He is God in the flesh (John 1:1, 14; 5:18; 10:33; Col. 2:9). He paid the death penalty for your sins when he died on the cross (Rom. 5:8-11; 6:23; 1 John 4:10). To be saved, you must admit that you are a sinner (Isa. 53:6; Rom. 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10), believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who can save you (John 3:16; Acts 16:31; 1 John 4:14-15), and call upon Him to save you (Rom. 10:9-10, 13).
If you are truly saved, then you must publicly confess that Jesus Christ is your Savior and Lord (Matt. 10:32-33), be baptized (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38), and obey God's commands (John 14:15, 21; Jam. 2:14-26; 1 John 5:18). You are also assured that no matter what happens to you in this world of sin, God will work it out for your good (Rom. 8:28-39). You also get to live forever in the new world with Jesus (1 Cor. 1:8-9; Eph. 4:30; 1 Pet. 1:3-5; 1 John 5:13). Decades of suffering and sorrow are nothing to compare to an eternity of peace and joy!
On the other hand, if you are not saved from your sin, then you are gambling with your soul! If you die in your sin, you will suffer for eternity in a place called hell (Matt. 25:41-46; Luke 16:22-24; Rev. 20:14). If you think this present world is full of suffering, then you've seen nothing yet! If you do not want hell to be your eternal home, then I strongly urge you to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior right now while you still have the chance!
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