If God were to eliminate all the evil and injustice in the world, would he eliminate you too?
I had to ask this question of Nando, a young man I talked
with on the sidewalk who gave the injustice of this world as the main reason
for his struggles with religious belief.
It’s kind of a logical question and can be a little bit
shocking, because I usually find that those people who say they can’t believe
in God because of the suffering, evil and injustice in this world, usually
haven’t thought through the implications of their question or they truly
believe themselves to be somehow above the world and not part of the evil they
complain about.
But let’s carry that logic a little further. Granted, for some reason God allows both evil
and good to coexist side by side in this world for a time. I’ve talked about reasons for this, how a
“greater good” is made possible in a context where it is challenged by evil;
where courage can only be exercised in the presence of danger; where love can
best be demonstrated where sacrifices must be made.
But what about the Kingdom of Heaven? If heaven is to be the place where evil will
no longer be allowed to dwell alongside good, where the powers of darkness
won’t be allowed in the kingdom of light, then how could sinful people like
ourselves be allowed there also?
Revelations 21:27 tells us “...nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor
anyone who does what is detestable or false...”
2 Peter 3:13 says “we are waiting
for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”
If heaven is a place of righteousness, where nothing unclean
can dwell, will our waiting be in vain?
Yet there is hope for us in these verses. 2 Peter, directed toward Christians, says “we
are waiting” for a reason. Rev. 21:27,
telling us of the holiness of heaven, went on to say “...but only those who are
written in the Lamb's book of life.”
How can we be made righteous? How can our names be written in the Lamb’s
book of life? Nando, having just been asked
randomly out on the sidewalk, guessed it has something to do with our life
choices and whether we treat one another with kindness or not. He knew it can’t be a conscious tally-point
system where our good must stack up against our bad. But still, bottom line, he believed it to be
based on a measure of whether we deserve heaven or not.
But that would not be the way sinners can be made “righteous”. At best, it would be a way to achieve “self-righteousness”,
as if we could save ourselves by our own efforts. No, this righteousness comes not from
ourselves but from God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.
(Romans 3:22) Jesus paid the penalty for
our sin, a penalty no righteous act of our own could pay for.
Because of Jesus, yes, we can have that future hope as we are
waiting for the new heaven and earth.
But even here, now, in a world where good and evil must coexist, we need
not fear that we ourselves are caught up in evil. We can be “in the world but not of the world”,
part of the solution and not part of the problem. We can work against evil and for a more just
society as we live out Jesus’ prayer “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on
earth as it is in heaven.” When God
finally does eliminate the evil and injustice of this world, He won’t have to eliminate
us too.
Thanks for allowing me to record our conversation Nando! It can be seenhttps://youtu.be/EzWp9IN6ly0
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