Our Leadership, Location, History and Beliefs
However, we do not experience it that way. We can see intelligent design and believe that God is the Designer, but we also see distortion and imperfection. The imperfection started with the entrance of Satan and sin into the world. The ways that has affected the world are innumerable, but it can all be summed up in one word, death. Death cannot be charged up to God. He created man to live, not to die. The devil has done his best to cause death to reign over man; but God will triumph because he assured everlasting life to all who will accept His Son, Jesus Christ, who came “that we might have life and might have it abundantly.” (Jn. 10:10).
I say all of this in order to say the following: The tragedies which occur in our lives are not the “will of God.” All that happens in this world is not God’s will. Why pray “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” if it is His will already? Also, they are not punishment for something we have done. We suffer in this world because it is an imperfect world where there is not only order but also randomness and sometimes chaos. A baby is born with a flawed heart or a mother is taken from her children by a fatal accident or a tsunami strikes and 200,000 lives are wiped out. It does not mean that God is punishing us or that He doesn’t love us.
God does not cause misfortunes. He is probably as saddened by it as we are. There is a world where such things do not occur, which Jesus has gone to prepare for us. Until then we can know that He cares and that He is near to comfort and to strengthen us and enable us to live bravely and faithfully in the imperfect world.
Lon Jones