sorry this "reply" took so long
but it took me this long to come to a conclusive explanation
in short, there are TWO types of "bad" things that happen on this earth:
1. something which SEEMS bad, but turns out to be good in retrospect
2. something that is actually bad.
the first type is self explanatory, but from the christian POV, why does the 2nd happen?
again, there are a few possible explanations.
- as humans, we have all sinned against God by turning away from Him. and because of our sin, we cause bad things to happen on this Earth (like, murder, war, etcetcetc)
but, what about the things that we seem to have no control over? things like disease/death?
- death is the consequence of our sin. EVERYONE (christians included) deserves to die. BUT because of God's never ending grace, through Jesus, who died so that we could live, those who believe in Him (christians) are saved and have eternal life.
and then there are the other bad things that happen. could be irritating/annoying, or even devastating. and also, why do bad things happen to christians if they are protected by God??!
- one word: Satan. the devil. see, Satan is pure evil, and he is filled with a rich and deep hatred of all goodness. thus, he has a never ending desire to destroy everything which is good. the most obvious target of course is Jesus - the epitome of purity and innocent and goodness and just awesome amazing wonderfulness. but of course, Satan could never destroy Jesus, and thus Jesus triumphed over Satan. but Satan doesn't give up - he starts targeting the world, and its people, especially Christians, to deter them, and cause them to doubt that God exists, to resent God, to blame God for the bad things that happen, when really it is SATAN that is doing all these bad things in the world. why? because he is EVIL, and he doesn't want anyone to be able to receive the gift of eternal life and be happy and joyous when they are reunited in heaven with God.
BUT, God bounds Satan through the faith of His followers. if we believe in God truly and with our whole hearts, and we patiently endure all that Satan throws at us, Satan will have no hold on us, as God will give us strength to overcome all the temptation and evil desires and bad things that are caused by our sinful natures.
and so, it is NOT God teasing you - it is Satan, trying to prevent you from becoming a Christian. and are you really going to be manipulated in this way?
ALL we have to do is believe. believe, and live life as God calls us to live, and we receive the best gift ever - that of eternal life, WITH GOD, in heaven. and it's not just life in heaven, with God as our father even on this earth, we are so blessed and protected and loved and looked after.
hmm this is probably a lot to take in, but yeah, anything that i've skimped over and if anyone who reads this wants to know more, PLEASE ASK ME, and i'll try my best to answer, yeah?
p.s. it is God speaking through me =]
but it took me this long to come to a conclusive explanation
in short, there are TWO types of "bad" things that happen on this earth:
1. something which SEEMS bad, but turns out to be good in retrospect
2. something that is actually bad.
the first type is self explanatory, but from the christian POV, why does the 2nd happen?
again, there are a few possible explanations.
- as humans, we have all sinned against God by turning away from Him. and because of our sin, we cause bad things to happen on this Earth (like, murder, war, etcetcetc)
but, what about the things that we seem to have no control over? things like disease/death?
- death is the consequence of our sin. EVERYONE (christians included) deserves to die. BUT because of God's never ending grace, through Jesus, who died so that we could live, those who believe in Him (christians) are saved and have eternal life.
and then there are the other bad things that happen. could be irritating/annoying, or even devastating. and also, why do bad things happen to christians if they are protected by God??!
- one word: Satan. the devil. see, Satan is pure evil, and he is filled with a rich and deep hatred of all goodness. thus, he has a never ending desire to destroy everything which is good. the most obvious target of course is Jesus - the epitome of purity and innocent and goodness and just awesome amazing wonderfulness. but of course, Satan could never destroy Jesus, and thus Jesus triumphed over Satan. but Satan doesn't give up - he starts targeting the world, and its people, especially Christians, to deter them, and cause them to doubt that God exists, to resent God, to blame God for the bad things that happen, when really it is SATAN that is doing all these bad things in the world. why? because he is EVIL, and he doesn't want anyone to be able to receive the gift of eternal life and be happy and joyous when they are reunited in heaven with God.
BUT, God bounds Satan through the faith of His followers. if we believe in God truly and with our whole hearts, and we patiently endure all that Satan throws at us, Satan will have no hold on us, as God will give us strength to overcome all the temptation and evil desires and bad things that are caused by our sinful natures.
and so, it is NOT God teasing you - it is Satan, trying to prevent you from becoming a Christian. and are you really going to be manipulated in this way?
ALL we have to do is believe. believe, and live life as God calls us to live, and we receive the best gift ever - that of eternal life, WITH GOD, in heaven. and it's not just life in heaven, with God as our father even on this earth, we are so blessed and protected and loved and looked after.
hmm this is probably a lot to take in, but yeah, anything that i've skimped over and if anyone who reads this wants to know more, PLEASE ASK ME, and i'll try my best to answer, yeah?
p.s. it is God speaking through me =]