Why do bad things happen to good people?

Have you ever asked this question? I think we've all asked it or wondered it from time to time. Especially when we see good Christian people suffering an illness or injury that is tragic in nature. We think to ourselves... "Why would God allow this to happen to them?" I mean, "He God! He could have protected them from this terrible thing, right?" Well the answer of course is Yes he could, He's God, He can do anything he wants. So our next question might be... "Why doesn't he protect us then from bad things like Cancer or illness, or terrible auto accidents that injure or even kill our loved ones, or what about the terrible storms, earthquakes and other natural disasters that hurt or kill people, or any other bad thing that you can think of? Why are we not protected from all that stuff?

Well I'd like to take a look at this a different way if you will. Let me ask you this question. Do you believe the bible teaches you that you can earn your way into heaven? You've probably answered... NO WAY! God's gift of salvation does not come from works lest any man should boast. It's a free gift to all who repent of their sin and give their heart and life to Jesus, making him Lord of your life. Good answer! So you would say that no one is good enough to get into heaven without the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior? YES! OK, but what about Billy Graham, if any body's earned their way, I mean he's it isn't he? Of course the answer is still no. He may live a more Godly life than most of us, but he's still is a sinner saved by God's amazing grace, and even though he may strive to live a life of obedience, he still has an old nature that battles within him with his new nature (Holy Spirit.) Has he been made righteous in the site of God? Yes he has, but it's not because of what he did, it's because of what Jesus did on the cross for him and the rest of us that believe. Another way to say this would be to say that we are not good people, we're sinners in need of saving! The bible tells us that we are as filthy rages in the sight of the Lord. Because of our sin we all fall short of God's glory and none of us measure up. We're not good people, we're sinners. So when we say things like... Why do bad things happen to good people, were saying their good in comparison to other people, which of course they may be. Lets face it, some people are just down right mean and hateful, while others are friendly and polite to just about everyone they meet. Some are giving and loving while others are rude and selfish. It's easy to see the difference and when we see people that live their life as a sacrifice to the Lord and they practice in their actions how the word of God says we should live. It's easy to see why we would be confused and ask... Why Lord? These people are living their life for you yet they're suffering so much. It seems terrible bad things are happening to them and here sits these bad people and they seem to be wealthy, have great health, and living the good life, while at the same time speaking out against you Lord. Why? Why do you not protect those that belong to you???

The answer is... He does protect those that belong to him. It's called eternal life! We must never forget that this world we live in is a bad world. Satan and his demons rebelled against God and they were cast out and they have fallen to earth. Earth is their world now, their home. This world we live in is not our home if you belong to Christ. We've been protected and secured in our faith. We belong to Jesus Christ and one day we'll be removed from this world and we'll be in the presence of Almighty God in heaven. The promise is that one day we'll stand before God and even though we don't deserve eternal life, Jesus will speak on our behave. He'll say to the Father, this one belongs to me and he's been made righteous by my blood that I shed on the cross for him. This one put his faith and trust in me. He repented of his sin and made me Lord of his life. I know him! We have a relationship.

It's from this day on that we'll be good, we'll be pure, and we'll be holy. But today, we're not good. Even the best Christian is still a sinner saved by grace. Yes it hurts us to see good people suffer, we don't think it's right. It just doesn't seem fair. But we must never forget that this world is full of evil. Bad terrible things will happen to anyone at any time as we journey through it. It's random at best. As we live in a world that has the influence of Satan, well, even Innocent bystanders are going to get hit by the flying debris every so often. There's no one safe from it. A person under the influence of Satan can walk up to you and blow your brains out with a gun, and it doesn't matter that you were thought of as a good person. This world is a mess. The good news in all this is... this is not our final destination. With the Holy Spirits leading and guiding us we have the strength and the courage to get through everything that comes our way. Good or bad, we'll make it through, because we know this isn't all there is in life. God does protect us from bad things, we have eternal life in God's love. Some don't!