It is obvious that bad things happen in the world. It is obvious that people are wicked. It is obvious that evil exists, and that sometimes it appears to win.
If God is worthy of worship, his character must punish evil. He must be a God of Justice.
“Listen to me, you stubborn people who are so far from doing right. I am ready to set things right, not in the distant future, but right now!” God declares (Isa 46:12-13). “I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds” (Rev 22:12).
It is easy to look at the injustice in the world and wonder what God is doing, even concluding that he cannot exist – but justice delayed is not justice denied. I think of the impossibility of juggling the schedules of fifteen people, and then think of God attempting to arrange justice for billions of people. The teacher in the book of Ecclesiastes notes, “When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of people are filled with schemes to do wrong. Although a wicked man commits a hundred crimes and still lives a long time, I know that it will go better with God-fearing men, who are reverent before God. Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them” (Eccl 8:11-13).
I believe in a God whose justice is perfect, but in ways I cannot understand or comprehend. I believe that he is coming – and hopefully soon – to set things right. And on that day, I believe with all my heart that no one will be able to stand before God and say, “I was treated unfairly – I didn’t get what I deserved.”
next: I believe in a God I can’t control