the Good, the Bad, and Beautiful

Romans 3:10 “There is none righteous, no, not one.”

Why is there so much suffering in the world? Why are there starving children in Africa? What about cancer? Why, God, why!?

Are you ever tempted to ask the prideful question, "Why do bad things happen to good people?"
Just think of this one instead, "Why do good things happen to bad people?"

Isaiah prophesied, and Paul reminds us, that there is no one who does good - no, not one! Because of your sin, you have forfeited any right to claim merit or justice for yourself. On your own account, your own strength, your own righteousness, no matter how good you are compared to other people, you are still found lacking in the balance because the standard to which you must be measured is the perfect righteous holiness of God himself! And because of one man’s disobedience (Adam), sin and death passed on to all men.

Because of your great grandaddy Adam, you have the nature of rebellion within you and you are enslaved to it unless God sets you free by the power of His Holy Spirit. And this freedom was only made possible by once-shed blood of Jesus.

You deserve nothing but the hell of fire, the furious wrath of God, because you are a sinner.
Any pleasant thing which happens to you is the pure grace and mercy of God.

The greatest of which being that he sent his Son to take your sentence upon himself in your stead, and give you his very eternal life in exchange, if you receive it.

Anything unpleasant, disappointing, or frustrating which occurs is genuinely within the means of His providence, and he works all things according to the counsel of his own will, together, for the good of those who love him and are the called according to his purpose.

Some, if not a great deal, of this good may not be partially (and most assuredly, fully) realized by us until the Day of Resurrection and Judgment.

Stay humble my friends. :)