Hell - the continuation of our current path

Though the topic of hell is a difficult one, it is also a very misunderstood one. While we bristle at the concept of an eternal hell, we cope with hell on earth whenever we experience pain. 

i.e. most of us don't ¹seek God for answers or help when we go through pain and suffering - hell on earth - we deal with it ²any way we can - as long as it doesn't require us to directly engage with or trust in God. Because of our pain, we assume God has ³abandoned us and is therefore unloving and untrustworthy. But this is only true if we don't take the time to explore and understand what Christ did and went through to restore us back to the Father.

Humanity, as a whole, avoids God like the plague. At best we consider Him a last resort whenever we encounter pain, instead of the primary solution he actually is. But even then, we are not truly interested in God, only in relief.

However, if not for the pain and suffering in this life, few (if any) of us would ever consider God, much less seek Him. 

While we accept and settle for hell on earth as a part of living in this life, we bulk at suffering continuing beyond this ⁴present existence. 

But suffering only continues because we ⁵continue on in life with no genuine interest or pursuit of God.

The good news is God has provided an answer and solution to pain, suffering, and death. But we typically reject, ignore, and even mock God's offer when we hear it. We do not seek or call out to Him for the solution. Why? We are not interested in God, only in relief.

What is that solution? Christ!  The eternal Son of God took on human form like us, so He could enter and embrace this world of pain, sorrow, and suffering (caused by us through our rejecting Him) and took our hell (that we all help to create) onto himself - physically and emotionally allowing it to kill him. He did this so we might not have to but eventually be freed from it forever.

And we will be freed if we accept his offer. If we reject His offer, we are left with our current strategy of dealing with pain and death ²without God, i.e. looking to ourselves (and anything we can get our hands on to cope with our pain) instead of God. We want (wanted) to be on our own and left alone. As a result, we are! i.e. we get what we want(ed). Hell is simply the continuation beyond this present existence of the course we are already on - one without God - (unless and until we know Christ).

The difference between using the coping strategy we now use vs when we pass into eternity is we won't have access to the ⁴resources we now use (and abuse) to numb our pain (our private and personal hell). There will be nothing available to quench our longings and thirst in our next existence. All we will have are memories of how we tried to cope (but never completely did) and a never-ending longing and thirst for the current blessings of life we now have but will never be able to have again.

God doesn't send anyone to hell. It is the path we choose, create, and are currently on. It is not because there is no offer or solution to pain and suffering. But we go out of our way to ignore, deny or ⁶ridicule it (Him). In short, by rejecting God's solution and offer, we continue on the path we are already on and send ourselves into eternity without God. We are tenaciously committed to being our own god, even if it means continuing in our pain. God honors our choice.

To be in the presence of God in our state of rebellious unbelief and unreconciled with him would be a greater hell than continuing on without Him as we currently choose to.

For a further discussion of heaven and hell click here.

For a discussion of whether we are rebels to God click here.
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¹We may seek relief and call upon God for it but this is not seeking God but simply relief and God only as a means to it - i.e. We treat God as a genie in a bottle to grant our wishes. We are only interested in God as a means of relief and not in God himself.

²We might give a "hat tip" or "nod" to God when facing death, hoping He will notice and it will be enough to appease God after living our whole life avoiding Him - or even ridiculing Him and pursuing the pleasures of creation instead of Him, who is the Creator of all things.

³The reality is we abandoned God (and continue to). He has not abandoned us but in fact, came to us and sought (seeks) us out in our rebellion, doing all that was necessary to restore us.

⁴We use the gifts of God to address our pain, yet we never acknowledge (thank) God as the Creator and Giver of those gifts. We don't actually object to hell as much as to not having access to all the blessings of life we use to try and cope with it now. We want the gifts of life as long as we don't have to directly deal with the Giver (Creator) of the gifts.

And what are those gifts? Anything in creation available to us (or within us) that we used to numb or cope with our pain, be that recreation, substance abuse, abuse of sex, food, our God-given talents/abilities, respect, fame etc etc.... all good gifts from God used (i.e. misused) by us to maintain our independence from God.

⁵Our existence doesn't continue beyond this life, so we might be punished. We continue to exist because we are like God and are designed to be in an eternal relationship with our Creator. If we refuse his offer to reestablish that relationship now in this life, we simply continue on the same path we now choose. 

⁶Have you ever wondered why people only use the name of Christ in a disparaging manner but not the name of Mohammed, Buddha, Vishnu, or some other religious figure? (Do people who live in a Muslim society throw around the name of Mohammad like we do Christ's name in the west? No. Why? Out of respect to Mohammad). It's as if we intuitively understand on a subconscious and visceral level Christ is the way and truth, but since our default disposition is antagonistic to God, we disregard and disrespect His Son and all He did to restore us. Why? The death of Christ to restore us back to God implies we can never fix ourselves. This is an insult to our arrogance. 

Who are we?

There are ¹two fundamental aspects of our being (nature) that define us. One is divine, the other is decidedly human and the opposite of divine.

1. We are like God,  the divine - in His image.

2. We are not God - not self-sufficient, infinite, without limits, but finite i.e. human.

Because we are like God and created to interact (commune) with God - who is ²infinite - only our union and relationship with this infinitely loving God can make us whole - complete us. 

Because we are not God, we are limited, dependent, finite, not infinite, we ³must be in union - connected - with the infinite to function properly, i.e. as designed.

What is the nature of our relationship with God? 

He is the source of all things and we are recipients of all things, i.e. All we are, have, and need to exist and function ⁴comes from God either directly (such as our breath-existence and our abilities) or indirectly through His creation - e.g. food, water, air, sun, other image bearers, etc.

Because we are finite yet designed for the infinite we must go outside ourselves to find lasting meaning, purpose, value, and fulfillment.

Since God is the Creator and the Source of our being (existence), and we are in his image, to understand ourselves correctly, we must ⁵know and understand God correctly.

How do we know God? God is a person. What can be known about him on a personal level must be revealed to us by Him; just as others only truly know us to the extent we reveal ourselves to them. 

His revelation to us of Himself comes in great part through his words (the bible) - What he tells us about himself specifically, as well as what he says in general. 

He also reveals Himself by His actions; through creation - which includes us and our being like Him.

God's fullest, most complete self-revelation occurred when God the Son took on human form as Immanuel (i.e. God with us) and came to live (abide) among us. 

"Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high..." ‭‭Heb 1:1-3

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth..." - John 1:1‭‭-‬5‭, ‬14 ESV

Yet we are not presently connected to God because we have rebelled and broken away from our dependence and need for God. We act as if God is irrelevant or unimportant when it is just the opposite i.e. He is all important. 

If we wish to be reconnected with our Creator, Jesus tells us how in the following statement...

And this is eternal life: that people can know you, the only true God, and that they can know Jesus Christ, the one you sent. - John 17:3

To understand why we are disconnected and how to reconnect click here.

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¹theology - the study of the nature and essence of God

anthropology - the study of the nature and essence of humankind.

²God is infinite both in depth (qualitatively) and breadth - duration (quantitatively). There is no deeper love or a love that never ends except His.

³yet we are not connected because we have rebelled from our dependence on and need for God.

⁴Whether we function optimally, as He desires and designed or not, we still live, move, and have our very being (existence) in God. If there were no God, there would be no us i.e. We still exist because of God whether we willfully and consciously have a personal relationship with God or not.

⁵John Calvin's opening paragraphs of The Institutes. 

Italicized comments in (brackets) are my own to help clarity the authors intended meaning.

1.Without knowledge of self there is no knowledge of God

Our wisdom, in so far as it ought to be deemed true and solid Wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves. But as these are connected together by many ties, it is not easy to determine which of the two precedes and gives birth to the other.

For, in the first place, no man can survey himself without forthwith (immediately) turning his thoughts towards the God in whom he lives and moves; because it is perfectly obvious, that the endowments (gifts) which we possess cannot possibly be from ourselves; nay (no), that our very being is nothing else than subsistence in (existence and maintenance by)  God alone.

In the second place, those blessings which unceasingly distil (come) to us from heaven, are like streams conducting (pointing) us to the fountain.

Here, again, the infinitude of good which resides in God becomes more apparent from our poverty. In particular, the miserable ruin into which the revolt of the first man has plunged us, compels us to turn our eyes upwards; not only that while hungry and famishing we may thence (thereby) ask what we want, but being aroused by fear may learn humility. For as there exists in man something like a world of misery, and ever since we were stript of the divine attire our naked shame discloses an immense series of disgraceful properties every man, being stung by the consciousness of his own unhappiness, in this way necessarily obtains at least some knowledge of God. Thus, our feeling of ignorance, vanity, want, weakness, in short, depravity and corruption, reminds us, (see Calvin on John 4: 10,) that in the Lord, and none but He, dwell the true light of wisdom, solid virtue, exuberant goodness. We are accordingly urged by our own evil things (ways/conduct) to consider the good things of God; and, indeed, we cannot aspire to Him in earnest until we have begun to be displeased with ourselves. For what man is not disposed to rest (depend on) in himself? Who, in fact, does not thus rest, so long as he is unknown to himself; that is, so long as he is contented with his own endowments, and unconscious or unmindful of his misery? Every person, therefore, on coming to the knowledge of himself, is not only urged to seek God, but is also led as by the hand to find him.

2.Without knowledge of God there is no knowledge of self

On the other hand, it is evident that man never attains to a true self-knowledge until he have previously contemplated the face of God, and come down after such contemplation to look into himself. For (such is our innate pride that...) we always seem to ourselves just, and upright, and wise, and holy, until we are convinced, by clear evidence, of our injustice, vileness, folly, and impurity. Convinced, however, we are not, if we look to ourselves only, and not to the Lord also - He being the only standard by the application of which this conviction can be produced. For, since we are all naturally prone to hypocrisy, any empty semblance (appearance) of righteousness is quite enough to satisfy us instead of righteousness itself. And since nothing appears within us or around us that is not tainted with very great impurity, so long as we keep our mind within the confines of human pollution, anything which is in some small degree less defiled delights us as if it were most pure just as an eye, to which nothing but black had been previously presented, deems (estimates) an object of a whitish, or even of a brownish hue, to be perfectly white. Nay, the bodily sense may furnish a still stronger illustration of the extent to which we are deluded in estimating the powers of the mind. If, at mid-day, we either look down to the ground, or on the surrounding objects which lie open to our view, we think ourselves endued with a very strong and piercing eyesight; but when we look up to the sun, and gaze at it unveiled, the sight which did excellently well for the earth is instantly so dazzled and confounded by the refulgence (brightness), as to oblige (compel) us to confess that our acuteness (skill) in discerning terrestrial objects is mere dimness when applied to the sun. Thus too (in the same way), it happens in estimating our spiritual qualities. So long as we do not look beyond the earth, we are quite pleased with our own righteousness, wisdom, and virtue; we address ourselves in the most flattering terms, and seem only less than demigods (insignificant or lesser gods). But should we once begin to raise our thoughts to God, and reflect what kind of Being he is, and how absolute the perfection of that righteousness, and wisdom, and virtue, to which, as a standard, we are bound to be conformed, what formerly (previously) delighted us by its false show of righteousness will become polluted with the greatest iniquity (most wicked actions); what strangely imposed upon us under the name of wisdom (what we mistakenly thought by our own estimation) will disgust by its extreme folly; and what presented the appearance of virtuous energy (right or good efforts) will be condemned as the most miserable impotence (totally inadequate). So far (so distant or removed) are those qualities in us, which seem most perfect, from corresponding to (in relation to or compared to) the divine purity.

Why does God allow evil

The age old question is if God is good why does He ¹allow evil and suffering to continue?

But in the most important and ultimate sense He doesn't (and didn't). One day the scales of justice will be completely balanced. 

But what about now? 

At the very outset of our turning away from God, He reached out to us with an immediate - though temporary - solution. 

He also promised and eventually ²provided the permanent and ultimate solution to evil - along with all its fallout - in the most amazing and unexpected way - for anyone who receives it. Not necessarily the solution ³we would prefer but in a way that surfaces and exposes our core problem and why suffering remains - i.e. our distrust of the Creator. This is also the central truth the Book of Job seeks to reveal to us.

God is not indifferent to our pain nor has He abandoned us or lost control by allowing it to continue. Pain and suffering continue for good reason - but only for now. Our distrust of God must be ⁹fully exposed, with all its fallout, so we might recognize its true destructive nature and abandon it (the exact opposite of abandoning God in Eden) and more fully enter into and participate in the glory of God - which is our greatest good and highest joy.

In short, God is using evil for good. If he wasn't, it would be ⁴removed. One day, when it has accomplished its intended purpose it will be. But not before then.  

So for now suffering remains for good reason and a good purpose. But we can only benefit fully from it when we trust Him. The greater our trust the greater our gain i.e. it is always used for good if and when we trust His good and loving intentions in allowing it to remain. If we do not trust Him, suffering will only embitter and eventually destroy us. 

This may not be what we want or like to hear but that is because we don't see what God fully sees and knows is ultimately for the greatest good - our greatest good. 

In this life, God uses what was meant (by the destroyer - satan) for our harm and destruction (i.e. evil) and turns it on its head. He "redeems" evil if you will, and uses it to ultimately advance us not destroy or harm us. 

Pain and suffering are now a primary (maybe the primary) means of turning us back to God when we aren't pursuing Him or drawing those who are pursuing Him even closer.

Our agenda and wisdom doesn't match God's, whose wisdom and intent are perfect. Ours is not. Again our distrust of God is our biggest issue (not our pain) and He addressed it - and is addressing it - perfectly through all He allows us to go through.

If and when we choose to remain in rebellious unbelief and defiance of God, suffering will overcome and embitter us (experiencing anger when we encounter pain is always a clue we do not trust Him and still may ultimately have a bone to pick with God. This is the real issue...not the "mystery" of why we suffer). 

Our biggest challenge is not suffering but remaining in our unbelief. This ultimately leads to our permanent ⁴separation from God (whereas our present separation, along with all the suffering it brings, is only temporary once we turn back to Him). But if and when we turn to Him we are told (and over time come to realize) that God uses suffering (evil) for the good of those who trust and love Him (if not in our immediate circumstances, in our ultimate circumstances i.e. in eternity). Otherwise, if we refuse to trust Him, pain will embitter and ultimately destroy us.

So in the most important and ultimate sense evil has been dismantled and can no longer destroy us in the way our adversary intended, as long as we trust our Creator. Why?

1. The day is coming - and has already been put into motion - when pain and death will be done away with completely. The resurrection of Christ is our proof. His resurrection was the first fruits of what is to come. Life ultimately wins over pain, suffering, and death. If we trust Him we too will ultimately rise one day and overcome death just as he did.

2. The presence of evil is (for now) a means to turn us back to God and draw us closer to Him.

3. The presence of evil provides a means and opportunity for us to advance spiritually. We actually gain when, ⁸by faith, we overcome evil and suffering - just as Christ did when He, on our behalf, overcame it. This is the exact opposite of what we are naturally inclined to believe and what our adversary intends. Because of our pain, we are given an opportunity to become more like Christ if we receive it by faith i.e. believe that God is accomplishing our ultimate good not harm, through our pain.

In the most significant and ultimate sense evil and suffering have not only been forever ⁵disarmed and more than defeated but are also being used for good. He not only put into motion the eventual and complete removal of all pain one day but until that day arrives he "redeems" and uses it for the good of those who love and trust Him. 

How did God accomplish this?

When Christ became a man and fully embraced the harm, damage, and hurt (pain, evil) we cause each other - and let it kill him (instead of us) - He overcame death, evil, and suffering by 1st embracing it fully until it killed Him and then forever disarmed it when he ⁶came back to life. As a result, if we believe and accept all that Christ did, we too ⁷will overcome the pain, suffering, and death we bring (brought) into the world and raise to that very same life that Christ rose to - i.e. a life of bliss and glory with the Father of life, love, and all things. 

We are not only "victims" of pain but the perpetrators (cause) of pain. But Christ took care of all of it by submitting to it until it killed Him and then came back to life and declared victory over death and pain forever. 

Christ's ⁵resurrection changed how we look at and deal with pain and suffering. Evil and death did (does) not have the final word, life did (does) because of Christ! For this, He deserves (and will receive) our highest praise and gratitude forever and ever, amen!

We can no longer question whether God is good. In and by Christ's incarnation, death, and resurrection God proved and established His goodness beyond question. In and through Christ good and evil met and good won.

Christ fully embraced all aspects of our pain - physical, emotional, and spiritual - by His obedience unto death. Now He offers victory over death via His resurrection, so we don't have to die but be ultimately delivered from it. The offer of complete and ultimate freedom from pain is available to all who receive it. 

All of this was done for us, as well as for the rest of creation. Evil, pain, and death were (and are) not only permanently defeated - at the very moment Christ came back to life - it is now being used to reverse our separation from God practically. He first did this legally and continues to do this in our day-to-day walk - as we put our trust in Him. Because of Christ, the pain will eventually be eliminated altogether.

⁸Christ completely disarmed evil and dismantled its ultimate destructive effect - death - forever. Now he offers a life of infinite bliss to any who will accept His offer of restoration to Him and eventually complete freedom from pain and death forever.

Does this answer the question of why God allows evil to continue? Maybe not for many. But it can give us a helpful glimpse into the answer if we let it. 

For a further discussion of how God uses evil for our good click here...and here.

The greater the evil the greater the opportunity for healing/grace click here.

For a discussion on the key lesson from the book of Job click here.

For a further discussion on the value of paradox click here.

For a further discussion of how big is God exactly click here

For a discussion of how pain can help us see Christ's love click here

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¹God did not cause us to rebel or cause our brokenness or the pain and all the suffering in the world that followed. The world is broken because we continue (like Adam and Eve, our original ancestors) to choose to distrust God - i.e. God didn't break us or the rest of creation, we disconnected and broke (short-circuited) that connection when we turned away from God. 

If God provides us a warm house filled with light - and tells us we are safe if we remain inside - yet we step outside into the cold dark night, guess who moved? A hint...it wasn't God.

God loves and values our ability to choose to such a great extent that he gave us the choice and freedom to rebel and reject Him - because choice is a key part of us being like God and partaking of Him to the greatest extent possible - ⁹without our actually being God (which we can never be by virtue of being created). The consequences of our choice are far less significant to God than our ability to freely make them.

Some deny the existence of evil but that is only because of how evil is commonly defined. To get an accurate definition we must go to the source, the Bible itself. How does it define evil (and good)?

The following definitions are found in the original Hebrew. 

Emphasis my own:

Evil - H7451b  רַע - ra  (948c); from the same as H7455; evil, distress, misery, injury, calamity: — adversity (7), calamity (4), disaster (2), evil (94), harm (2), harmful (1), hurt (1), ruin (3), surely (1), trouble (2), unpleasant (1), wickedly (1), wickedness (1).

H7455  רע - rôa‛BDB (Brown-Driver-Briggs') Definition:1) badness, evil 1a) badness, bad quality 1b) wilfulness 1c) evil, badness (ethical) 1d) sadness

Good - H2896b  טוֹב - tob  (375a); from H2895; a good thing, benefit, welfare: — enjoy *(1), good (66), good thing (3), good things (2), goodness (1), graciously (1), happiness (1), happy (1), pleasant (1), prosperity (8), richer (1), well (1), what is good (1), what is good (4).

H2895  טוֹב - tob (373b); a prim. root; to be pleasing or good: — any (1), did well (2), done well (1), fair (1), go well (1), good (1), good (5), high (1), merry (3), please (2), pleased *(2), pleases (4), pleases *(2), pleasing (1), well (8), well-off (1). 

We could sum these definitions up as follows:

Good - God himself and all the benefits, provision, and pleasure that come in knowing him and being in His loving presence, and being known and fully embraced by Him.

Evil - Injury or harm (e.g. death) that comes to us due to the absence of God (because of our turning away from Him in rebellious distrust) and all the good things he provides. 

Before man's rebellion, the Bible doesn't say they did not know good, it says they did not know good and evil i.e. good in contrast to or compared to evil. We can only fully understand and appreciate goodness when it is absent, just like we can only fully appreciate light and warmth when things are cold and dark.

Are we evil? For a discussion click here.

²The solution is only God can restore us, we can't restore (save) ourselves. And the way he does this requires us to trust Him and His provision. This was established at the very outset of mankind's rebellion when God provided Adam and Eve with animal skins to cover their shame, resulting in the death of another living creature (the consequences of our rebellion and God's warning of death). 

The ultimate provision was also promised at that time in the child (seed) of the women i.e. a living being after the image of man as well as God's image (i.e. the Son of God and man - Jesus) would be the ultimate sacrifice leading to the eventual end of all pain and destruction for any who trust in God's provision.

The sacrifice of a living being for the rebellion of another seems severe and barbaric but this only indicates our lack of understanding of the severe nature of that rebellion and the severe harm it causes. Our rebellion is destructive with very real and severe consequences. It causes harm, destruction, and death. God doesn't cause death (we do), but rather provided the solution for death i.e. the death of someone other than us who took the consequences for our destructive conduct.

God warned the day we rebelled we would die. Death was simply the natural outcome of our disconnecting from life i.e. our Creator, who is the very cause and source of life, not death. The natural or organic (and reasonable) result of cutting ourselves off from the source of life is death. When God said the day we eat we would surely die was not a statement of judgment but the simple reality that to disconnect from life results in the opposite i.e. life.

Once we rebelled the damage had been done. The only option was for something else to die in our place for the consequences of our disconnecting from the Source of life if we were to be restored and avoid our own death. The harm and destruction caused by our rebellion matter and could not be ignored or pretended not to matter. Someone or something had to suffer the destructive consequences of our rebellious distrust of God if we were to escape those consequences ourselves. 

Sacrificing another for our benefit (so we wouldn't have to reap the consequences of our distrust) isn't barbaric it is an act of severe mercy. What is destructive, evil, and barbaric is our rebellion, not the sacrifice made to spare and rescue us from its consequences i.e. our distrust. The evil, pain, and suffering in the world are the consequence of our rebellion and a clear indication of how severe our rebellion is. 

³We'd prefer He simply removed evil altogether so we can go about our life uninterrupted as long as and only if it doesn't involve God i.e. require us to trust Him.

We prefer being our own god, only without the consequences. We don't want God, we only want relief. We attempt to gain that by using the good gifts of creation without fully acknowledging the Creator and loving Giver of those gifts. To use an old idiom and analogy, we want to have our cake and eat it too.

If God is good why does He allow evil, is the wrong question. Why? It is based on the following wrong assumptions.

1. God must be the ¹cause of evil (and is therefore evil himself).

2. He doesn't know what He is doing by allowing it to happen in the first place (and by giving us the ability to choose) or allowing it to continue (this assumes we are wiser than the Source of all knowledge and wisdom... a little arrogant on our part wouldn't you agree?).

3. We have no responsibility (or choice) for the ongoing evil, pain, and suffering in the world i.e. our rebellious distrust of God isn't the actual problem, God is i.e. evil existence is not our fault or problem to solve, it's His - or so we think. 

But He didn't provide the ultimate solution to our pain because He had to, but because He choose to i.e. out of love, not obligation.

These assumptions reveal the true condition of our heart i.e. an arrogant heart that does not trust or believe God is good, wise, and loving - as He claims (and proved through Christ) - in all he does or allows. We simply don't believe we need Him.

God is addressing evil but not in the way we prefer, expect, or demand. He's addressing evil not by removing it from our world (at least for now) but by removing it from our individual hearts - internally vs externally - one person and step at a time, so we will increasingly approach the world as we were originally designed to - full of love - His love. And this so the world might progressively be healed and become more whole again through us, to the glory of God, not just ours.

We play(ed) a primary role in the perpetuation of evil in the world so God intends for us to play a primary role in its resolution and elimination - to fix what we messed up by our distrust of God who is all loving and worthy of total trust. Evil came into the world through us (our rebellious distrust) and God intends it to be addressed (resolved) in the same way i.e. us - by His indwelling and empowering love given to us by Christ and our total trust in this - His - perfect and infinite provision. 

The bottom line? A main reason evil exists is we, as Christ's followers have not done to others as we would have them do to us i.e. loved them sacrificially as Christ loved us. If we don't like the evil in the world, we don't need to look at or blame God, we need to look in the mirror.

However, God doesn't intend or expect us to do this (reverse evil) on our own i.e. in or by our own strength. Without God's love filling us, we couldn't if we wanted to.

What caused us to turn inward was our rejection of God's wise and loving direction (warning) and the subsequent loss of His love. This resulted in our no longer being in union with God which short-circuited our power to love others as we are designed to. As a result, our focus is on filling the void caused by God's absence, instead of on God and his infinite love. Our solution was and is now to pursue his creation for life and not the Creator. 

His absence (due to us rejecting Him, not Him rejecting us) resulted in us becoming takers instead of givers, hurting others instead of properly caring for them and the rest of creation. Only God and His love can heal the brokenness of the world but that is done in and through us by healing our brokenness first.

Of course, perfect restoration will not occur until Christ returns (though our legal standing has been fully restored). But the question remains... what role do we as followers of Christ play in ushering in that return. Maybe the primary role?

⁴and one day, when Christ returns and sets up His perfect - completed - rule (Kingdom) of love, it will be.

⁵God respects and honors our choice and will not force us to be with Him. To be in His presence against our will would be a greater hell than being separated from Him in eternity. 

⁶Through His resurrection, Jesus reclaimed all rule and authority over heaven and earth. The deceiver's (satan's) power is disarmed. He only has power over those who go along with him (a few willingly but many - maybe most - unknowingly).

⁷evil and the suffering that comes from it is a primary means of drawing us closer to God in this life. How? By revealing to us how our rebellious independence and distrust of God bring harm and destruction to others as well as ourselves. This dishonors God as well - in whose image we are created.

We are so inclined and quick to default to rebellious independence that suffering (the natural result of rebellion) becomes a necessary and useful tool to remind us of our true dependence on God for wisdom and guidance. Pain is the natural outcome of our rebellion, not unlike sticking our hand in the fire when we were told not to. Every time we do, we are reminded by the pain to remove our hands.

⁸By faith now but ultimately by experience in eternity.

Until we are permanently delivered from the presence of evil, pain, suffering, and death, how do we address it in this life? By faith. Unlike Adam and Eve (and us) - who sought (seek) to determine good and evil without God - Solomon sought God's direction in determining good and evil. This was the fruit of Solomon's humility and dependence on (trust in) God for wisdom. If we humble ourselves God will exalt us as well.

"Give your servant (Solomon) therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” - 1 Kings 3:9 ESV

⁹We are as much like God as possible without actually being God and Christ it is as much like us as possible while still being God. He is the God-man and the only one who is 

and forever will be. To Him be glory and praise forever! He earned it.