Bible Reading: Romans 5:12-21 & Ephesians 2:8, 9
It is a sad fact that “good” people get sick or die just like “bad” people. Why does this happen? Why does a good and loving God allow it to happen? While I don’t have all of the answers, I will share
my thoughts with you.
As I see it, there are four things that contribute to this situation.
First, God doesn’t want anyone to become sick or to die. Sickness and death weren’t created by God. When God created the world, He created a perfect environment; a world without anything bad – no pain, no suffering, no sickness, no death, no evil. Because of Adam & Eve’s choice to reject God’s authority and eat the forbidden fruit, all of those horrible things became a part of our world. In other words, people brought pain, suffering, sickness, death, and evil into the world by not trusting and obeying God.
Second, if only “bad” people got sick, we would come to believe that we could be saved & live forever by doing something themselves. We would begin to think that we could do good things to earn our way to heaven. That isn't true. Ephesians 2:8 & 9 tell us, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” No matter how good we are, our good is never good enough. There is only way to be forgiven for our sin and to be able live forever in heaven – we must trust God and believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
Third, the truth is, there are no good people. Romans 3:23 tells us, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and Romans 5:19 says, “For just as through the disobedience of the one man [Adam] the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man [Jesus] the many will be made righteous.” “Good” people don’t get sick and “good” people don’t die because there are no truly “good” people. We have all have sinned and are in need of the forgiveness, salvation, and righteousness that we can only get through Jesus Christ.
Finally, God is God. He is in control. He knows best. He has a plan that is beyond our comprehending.
While we may not understand why God allows what He allows, we can trust Him. He will never cause us to endure more than we can handle and He will be with us to strengthen us, encourage us, and comfort us through everything that comes our way.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I trust You to do what is best in my life, even when it is hard to understand. In Jesus' name. Amen.