God Meant It For Good

No matter who you are, you will likely admit that we live in unsettling times. The rise of hate on all sides, the decline of morals ... on all sides, the political climate all around, the polarization of society, the isolation that technology aimed to eliminate but only made worse, and on and on and on. We don't think we live in unsettling times because everything looks too good; we think it because there are too many problems.

For those without God, it's just too bad. If you're paying attention, the troubles seem insurmountable. That, basically, is because they are. We start to look at, for instance, "How do we stop gun violence?" only to discover that it's not gun violence that is the problem, but violent people. "How do we make people less violent?" That's not as clear. We were pretty sure it was violent video games and violent cartoons, but that hasn't made a dent. What's going on? Well, of course, it's a whole conspiracy. Not some QAnon type. This is a conspiracy that has gone on since Adam and Eve. Satan, opposed to God, has used humans to oppose God. We are sinners by nature, blinded by the god of this world, dead in sin. Fix that.

Of course, there is a fix. That's Jesus Christ. So we who know God -- or, rather, are known by God (Gal 4:9) -- have a unique privilege. We have the solution. We have the answer. Beyond that, the answer is the Master of the Universe. He works all things after the counsel of His will (Eph 1:11). He works all things together for good (Rom 8:28) -- the good that we will be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom 8:29). In the end, then, Satan and his minions intend it for evil, but God -- what a wonderful phrase -- but God intends it for good. All that turmoil, all that immorality, all that nastiness ... all of it is within His control and He will use it for good. We can count on it. Now we just have to live it.