God's Crazy Plan (April 2020)

What if God gave you the choice between 2 different worlds you could live on.

In the first world, there is no death, no disease, no natural disasters like Hurricanes, Floods, Tornados, etc. No thorns, weeds, or mosquitoes and food and water is abundant all over the planet such that none go hungry or thirsty. All basic needs are met.

In the 2nd world, while there are stunningly beautiful waterfalls, sunsets, etc. and an amazing variety of animals, wonderfully tasting things like chocolate, etc., still, in this world every single human being is subject to death and the pain that separation from those we love brings. In addition, many get diseases and suffer including children who can be found on cancer wards, Hurricanes/Tornadoes/Floods, etc. take many lives and cause much suffering. Parts of this world have no food and little water, so people die of starvation or thirst. Weeds, thorns, mosquitos, etc. exist in this world but not in the first one.

Which world would you choose to live on?

I think all of us if given the choice would choose the first world that is free of death and disease, as the 2nd world is in fact the world we find ourselves on. So why then are we not in fact living in a world that is free from those things?

People come up with different answers to this question. To me, the one that makes the most sense is the biblical answer. The biblical answer is in fact God’s original design was for us to live in a world free of Death, free of disease, free of Natural disasters like floods, hurricanes, etc. A world plentiful with food and natural resources, where work was easy. That is the world Adam and Eve were initially placed into.

So, what went wrong? Well, for Humans to experience freedom, God had to give us the ability to choose to either trust God and follow Him, or trust in ourselves as our own gods and decide totally for ourselves what is right vs what is wrong without any input from God on the matter. Adam and Eve chose the latter, thinking they were as wise as God and did not need His guidance. They were perfectly capable of deciding good vs evil, right vs wrong for themselves, and in fact suspected that God was holding out on them and did not trust God despite living in a world free of death, disease, natural disasters, etc. (They had no idea how good they had it).

So, now that they made this decision, God had a choice to make.

What if God had allowed them to stay in the Garden, to be immortal, so they would never face Physical death, never have disease, natural disasters, weeds and thorns, etc. Well, at first glance, life would be pretty good in this world. Work would be easy, we would not experience death or disease, etc. Who would not want to remain in this world?

Well, surprisingly, as I reflect, I realize I would not want to stay in that world for eternity.

A foundational principle in the bible is our sin leads to death and suffering. We can see this clearly, I.E.

-Lying leads to the death of trust, bitterness and unforgiveness leads to the death of relationships, Sexual Immorality in our current world can lead to physical death (Aids, Abortion), but even in a world without death can lead to the death of intimacy, Greed leads to the death of compassion, Pride leads to the death of understanding, gossiping leads to the death of character, selfishness leads to the death of love, etc.

I think anyone being intellectually honest, and not playing mental gymnastic games, can clearly see on above that sin does indeed logically lead to suffering and death.

A world without physical death and disease, without natural disasters, etc. would not in fact end human suffering but would increase it. Rape, violence, greed and corruption, hatred, envy, lust, laziness, pride, etc. would exist in the 2nd world and would only grow year by year.

So, some key issues with a plan that left Adam and Eve, and the rest of us, in the Garden with no death, disease, etc.

A) I believe (and you are free to disagree, I love you regardless), that without Death, disease, natural disasters, and no check on evil, where all do what is good in their own eyes, this would lead to a Hell on earth, not a Paradise.

In fact, because no one ever died on that world, I can only imagine how wicked many would become after 10,000 years of being their own god, accountable only to themselves. Can you imagine Hitler, Stalin, Mao, etc. after 10,000 years of living? The reality is many people we consider good people would be equally wicked after 10,000 years. Despite the fact the 2nd world has no death, no disease, no natural disasters, etc. I believe that world would morally devolve into what is seen in the bible in Sodom and in the time of the flood where the gang rape of Men, Women and Children was a normal part of the culture and accepted by both Men and Women, where violence would run rampant (Even if you could not kill someone, you could hold them captive, torture them, etc.). Wars, greed, corruption, slander, lying, etc. would be the norm, not the exception. This occurred in the bible when people lived less than 1,000 years. Imagine if they lived 10,000 years, or 100,000 years, etc. To live on a world for eternity where all do what is right in their own eyes, with no standard from God, then our planet would devolve into a living hell and people would live lives so self-centered that most of humanity is in utter despair.

I know many will not believe that. Humanism claims we as humans can work together to make this world a utopia, and we do not need God to make earth a paradise. Star Trek, which I love, often makes (to me) the laughable future statement that humanity has evolved beyond pettiness and violence, only to shortly later find the crew in the middle of a war. No, apart from God doing it, I do not believe this world we live on will ever be a total paradise free from sin that brings suffering to us all.

If you do not believe our sin leads to death and suffering, then you will not believe you need a savior and you will be angry at God for allowing Death, Disease, natural disasters, etc. in this world. On the other hand, if like me, you do indeed see the suffering that comes from our sin and the sin of others, then I find it a great Mercy that God did not abandon us to our sin and to live in eternity without God, as that would as I note be a horrible fate.

As such, in Genesis when God cursed the earth with natural disasters like tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, etc. and with thorns, weeds, etc. and made life on this earth less comfortable, even allowing disease and limiting human life spans on this earth to a short period, I think God did this out of love.

It is loving and kind for God to allow us to struggle on this current earth. In our suffering, he teaches us compassion for others, in our afflictions he teaches endurance, in our waiting He teaches us patience, in dealing with our fellow sinners, he teaches us how to love our enemies. In death, He teaches us to trust Him, which is essential in eternity if we are ever going to get out of our current mess.

I look around our world and see corruption, lying, deceit, slander, gossip, sexual impurity, violence, Pride, greed, etc. everywhere. We need a savior from our sin and from our self-centered nature or we are doomed to live out eternity suffering the consequences our sin leads us to.

That in fact was exactly Gods plan. He did not want us to get comfortable in this current world, but to desire a better one.

B) It was compassionate that God set a smaller limit on our lifespan.

Some will argue that even if death is needed, why does God not give us more time. It is unfair how short a time we have in this life. I would argue the opposite. My Wife Colleen died in December 2016, my Father died in October 2018, my sister in Law Tanya (Colleen’s sister) died in January 2019, and my Wife’s best friend Paula Rankin who is like a sister to me died in February 2020. I know I am not unique in losing people I love to death. This is a common human experience. For me personally, not knowing how long I will live, sitting here at 52 years of age, I may be here another 30 or even 40 years. That is a long and painful time being away from those I love who have passed on into eternity. Why would I want to wait even longer, like 1,000 years before I could see them again? Or once I pass, why would I want to wait 1,000 years before I could see my children again.

No, once again, God is merciful and kind in shortening our lives on this current earth to limit the time of our separation from those we love.

Why we need a savior

So, we all struggle with sin, selfishness, etc. and our sin leads to pain and suffering. If you agree with that, then you can understand why we need God to rescue us not from Himself, but from ourselves and the suffering and death our sin would lead us to.

What then if God simply through death relocated us all to Heaven, without any process on our part of repentance from our sin and changing our minds to agree with God that our sin is destructive. Then Heaven would be no better than earth and we would be just as doomed to live out eternity as slaves to our sin and the suffering it would bring.

OK, but can repentance and changing our minds alone to start to see sin as God does change the past destructiveness of our sin. Even if Adolf Hitler had repented and turned to God to save Him right before He died, would we not be upset with God for allowing someone that had done so much evil into Heaven? Where is the Justice? People would say God was unjust to dismiss evil from Murderers, human slave traders, etc. Of course, in demanding this justice, they would unwittingly bring down justice on themselves as well as per God’s standards, all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.

No, while I would appreciate being in Heaven with repentant sinners, and that fate is better than one in which none ever repented, it is still not enough.

Why Jesus had to suffer at Human hands and die for our sins

Why though did God’s plan require Jesus to suffer at human hands and to die a painful death on the cross?

Why could it not have been someone else? Well, according to the Bible, Jesus is God, co-creator of the universe, who has always existed, and who has maintained perfect unity with God the Father and the Holy Spirit for all of Eternity past, never once breaking that unity and being obedient, even to Death on the cross. As such, because Jesus was without sin for all eternity past, He is the only one able to step in for all of Humanity and pay the eternal price for our sin for all eternity future.

If Jesus did not do this, then Satan would be free to accuse us for all of eternity of not being good enough to be with a Holy and perfect God. If Jesus had not died on the cross for us, Satan would have a legal argument.

However, because Jesus who has not sinned and has never broken Unity with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit for all eternity past, and who being equal to God, stepped down from Heaven to humble himself to be tortured by sinful human hands, God accomplished several things:

A) God demonstrated if we as humans had enough power, our sin is so corrupting to our hearts that when Humans were given the chance, they rose up and tried to Kill God, so bad is our desire to be our own gods, accountable to no one.

B) Despite this, God demonstrated His love to us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He did not wait for us to reach some unattainable enlightenment, or earn Gods love, He simply loved us anyway, sinful and prideful as we are. As such, we can rest in the knowledge God does love us and is looking out for us. That will serve us well in eternity.

C) Because Jesus died and rose from the dead, we have Hope. Our Heavenly Father loved us so much He would not walk away from us and leave us in an eternity living self-centered and destructive lives, but Jesus came that we may have life, and have it more abundantly and just as He rose from the dead to show His promises are true, we will too. We can rest in that.

D) Because Jesus died, I will not go through eternity identified as the sum of my worst mistakes, but instead I am identified as a forgiven adopted son of my Heavenly Father, a Prince of Heaven worthy to be respected not because of anything I have done, but because of what Jesus has done on my behalf.

Conclusion:

As I think about the dark eternity of a life enslaved to sin and the pain it brings, I am grateful to God for loving me enough not to abandon me to that world, to my God who gave everything for me in order to adopt me as His beloved child and to spend a joyous eternity with Him and with those I love.

Happy Easter to you and your Families. May you enjoy the Hope and Peace only Jesus brings and in so doing, may you rest even when the world around you is in chaos, knowing God is in control, and His crazy plan is a good one, working all things, even painful things, out for our ultimate eternal good.