WHAT LIFE TEACHES US ABOUT GOD

Unbelievers and cynics tell us that all the evil in the world and all the pain, suffering, and injustice that exist teach us that there is no God; or, if he does exist, he does not care about us. But that view ignores everything in the world and in us that comes from God and is good.

For example, what about love? None of us would want to live in a world without love. Where does love come from? The Bible tells us that love comes from God, that God is love, and that we love because God first loved us (1 John 4: 7, 8, 19). We were created in God’s image with the ability to love and the need to be loved. The Greek language had a special word, agape, to describe this kind of love.

God also gave us the capacity to enjoy life, to laugh, to cry, to be curious, to be creative, to have sympathy and compassion, and to have the intelligence and deductive abilities to seek and find meaning and purpose in life. All of these abilities and characteristics are God-given and reflect the image of God within us (Genesis 1:26 – 27).

It is evident that we are no longer living in the garden. This world is full of evil, disease, and suffering. Yet, all around us is goodness, beauty, and love because of our Creator. There is no paradise on this earth. However, if we choose to seek what is good and to find the Source of the goodness, which is God, then he promises to help us “overcome the world” (John 16:33) and to be united with him in an eternal paradise after this physical life is over.

— Cynthia Clayton

Picture credits:
Patty Gibson
© PHOTOCREO Michal Bednarek. Image from BigStock.com