American culture is in total chaos. Every day we hear new stories about mass murder, government corruption, or sexual harassment. To make matters worse, even well known preachers publically struggle to identify abortion, homosexuality, sexual promiscuity, or drunkenness as sinful – even though Scripture isn’t the least bit gray on these issues.
In the midst of all this craziness we also hear a familiar question, “If God is so good and loving, then why doesn’t He do something?” He did. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
God didn’t send His Son in order to make the world a better place. Jesus came so that mankind could be delivered from this world, which is destined for destruction. We must recognize that our sin (no matter how seemingly small) contributes to evil in the world, and that Jesus is our only hope for forgiveness. His sacrifice on the Cross provides us with His righteousness. His resurrection gives us new life. Jesus is God’s answer to the sin problem that created the mess we see on the news. The world has been a mess ever since Adam and Eve chose to believe a lie and it stays in sin’s death spiral because people still choose to believe a lie. “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil” (John 3:19).
Although skeptics and scoffers may laugh and discount God’s solution to the world’s problems, Satan trembles at the reality of this truth. The chaos we see didn’t stem from God’s rejection of man, but of man’s rejection of God. God went all in to redeem and restore, to show mercy and grace, and to offer hope and help. “For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19).
All of the deep longings of the human heart are found in Jesus. He is our advocate before the throne of God and our ally in the war against the Devil, our flesh, and the world. Jesus’ death on the Cross wasn’t something God did as a last resort. Jesus is the only One who could defeat death, forgive our sin, and provide eternal life. One day the world will recognize Him as the King of kings, the Lord of lords, and the Prince of Peace. He will return to the world He created and He will calm the chaos. “One day He’s coming; oh glorious day!”