Doesn’t the Bible say…?
SUMMER DEVOTIONAL SERIES
“Bad things happen to good people.”
How many times has this seemed to be true in your life and the lives of the people you love? How many times have you found yourself asking why some people seem to have all the bad luck? Or perhaps you've wondered this about yourself... why is this thing happening to me? What have I done to deserve this?
While it does seem that some people really do have a harder time in life than others, the chances that every one of us will have occasion to ask these questions at some point are unfortunately very good. Perhaps even inevitable.
So do bad things happen to good people? Or maybe closer to the heart of it... why do bad things happen to good people?
The first thing to consider is that, in fact, no one is good. Jesus says in Mark 10:18, "No one is good - except God alone." We've been covering this in our Sunday messages - we were all born under the curse of sin and death. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) While we're tempted to compare ourselves with someone who is "worse" than us, the truth is that none of us are innocent. We have sinned against God and each other in more ways than we can name.
And this is why Jesus came to rescue us. He has given us a way to be free of this by giving us His righteousness, not by earning it through our own goodness. (Best news ever!)
The second thing we've already mentioned. We live in a fallen world, and we are broken, fallen people. All of creation feels the weight of it (Romans 8) and longs to be freed and made new. This is the reality of living in the "not yet" of the kingdom of God that Jesus ushered in through his death and resurrection.
So, bad things don't happen to good people. Bad things happen to people we consider to be kind and decent and not deserving of their circumstances. These things happen and will continue to happen as we live in a broken world that waits for the return of Christ and restoration of all creation to what He intended for us at creation. And, "we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies." (Romans 8:23)
We don't understand why certain things happen to some and others seem to have it easy. It's an age-old question that reminds us of our need for redemption from the curse and, I hope, points us to the promise of our Saviour that this trouble we face is not the end of the story. Not by a long shot.
Not by a long shot!
Pastor Tracy
This Sunday
THE NEVER-ENDING STORY
Patriarchs & Joseph → Moses & Exodus
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