Is God Fair? by Bill Keller
One of the most frequently asked questions I get from Christians and non-Christians, is "Why is God not fair?"
To properly answer that, you have to look at the whole picture.
When God created this world we live in and created us, it was all perfect. Man was created to live forever and the world was a wondrous environment. God made man with free will to make choices. This was done so man could freely choose to love, worship, and obey his creator. Otherwise, we would have been little more than robots. As we know, man exercised his free will and chose to disobey God, bringing sin into God's perfect world.
As we fast forward to the day we live in, we must realize that sin has now infected every aspect of this once perfect world. Of course, there will be a day very soon when God will exercise His judgment over His creation, and the world as we know it will no longer exist. However, we are eternal beings, and God has promised for those who will be with Him for eternity an eternal place where everything will be perfect. The Bible tells us there will be no more death, no more tears, and no more sorrow. The pain and suffering of this life will be over. The unfairness that exists in this life will be gone forever
In the meantime, we live in this sin-filled imperfect world where things are not always fair. We see those living good lives, following God each day, struggling to get by. We see those who curse God and blaspheme His very name enjoying all of the finest things this world can offer. That isn't fair.
We see those who have helped others and served God faithfully, dealing with the pain of disease on a daily basis. At the same time, those who destroy people's lives for their own gain wake up each morning enjoying perfect health.
We see bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people every day and deep inside we cry out to God, "It isn't fair!!!"
If this life is all there is, then it really is not fair. But those who have put their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ know this is only a brief season, and there is an eternity with God our creator waiting for us when this life is over.
For those who know Jesus Christ in the forgiveness of their sins, this life is the closest to Hell they will ever get. For those who go through this life and die rejecting God's Son, this life is the closest to Heaven they will ever get.
Once life on earth ends, all of the things that mark our life here end as well. The money you have or don't have will mean nothing. The physical shape you are in, good or bad, will mean nothing. The position you hold in this life will mean nothing. Rich or poor, fit or incapacitated, king or commoner, death becomes the great equalizer.
The comfort we have and the hope we have each day is that even though for now things may not be fair and they may not make sense, we have to put our faith and trust in God's Word that let's us know:
He loves us.
He is on the throne.
He is in control.
Even though He may allow things to happen that we don't understand, nowhere in the Bible does it say we are supposed to understand everything.
It does say, we are to be faithful to the commitment of our lives to Christ.
It does say we are to be obedient children.
It does say we are to love the Lord our God and follow Him each day.
The Bible tells us that God's ways, God's thoughts, are so far above ours, so rather than worry about what we see as unfair, let us instead work harder on being the best we can each day, even in the midst of situations we do not agree with or understand.
And may we realize that those times of testing are when we make our faith real because our ultimate hope is not in today, but in the eternity God has promised to those who will put their faith, trust, and lives in His hands.
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