I doubt that any of us would want to live in a world in which we had no choices. The price of being created in the very image of God means that we are able to distinguish between right and wrong. Sin has its consequences. And there is the endemic buildup of sludge of generations of sinful behavior that cause the innocent to suffer. In our greed, we foul our environment and refuse to keep our marriage commitments. We greedily grasp for everything, with our hearts closed to the widow, orphan and prisoner. We create an environment that is not God's dream for us.

Imagine what this environment might look like if it were not for the cross, the resurrection and God's revelation of himself in the Old and New Testament Scriptures, teaching us how to live the smart way. This world would be a much bigger mess, wouldn't it? Imagine if every single influence brought about by the historic witness of God in His revelation through the Old and New Testament Scriptures, and all the lives through history that could have been changed by a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, were removed and there were no such influences on Planet Earth. What would life look like today?

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I will be the first to add that, although I don't understand suffering and I don't like it, I have found that the crosses I have been forced to bear, or even willing to bear, have brought their positive results. I have learned in my almost 65 years the truth of what the 17th century writer, Francois Fenelon, wrote, “God uses the disappointments, disillusions, and failures of your life to take your trust away from yourself and help you put your trust in Him.”

I am encouraged by those words of the Apostle Paul, who said that now we see through a glass darkly. We don't understand everything. But someday we shall see God face to face, and, in that day, we will understand what we do not now understand.

Question 7: Is there life after death?

Absolutely! That's why Jesus died on the cross. He died, not only to forgive you your sins, but to give you eternal life, God-quality life, both here and in heaven. That was the essence of what He said to His friend, Martha, that day her brother, Lazarus, had died. He had raised him from the dead and declared to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26). To which Martha responded, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

Jesus told His disciples that He was going to prepare a place for them. He described heaven as something far beyond what we as human beings could understand. He talked about coming back to take them to be with Him in that place. The Bible describes life beyond this life that is no longer broken by sin, heartbreak, alienation. It is a place where the lion and lamb will lie down together. Every tear shall be washed away. Loved ones who died in Christ will be reunited, having recognizable bodies in an existence that goes beyond anything we can comprehend.