Why does bad things happen to good people? (The rich man and Lazarus Luke 16:19-31)

1 year ago
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Bad things happen to good people (The rich man and Lazarus Luke 16:19-31)
Most everyone has heard the saying, “that it rains of the just and the unjust.” This saying comes from the Bible, Matthew 5:45 where it says, “for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust.” The saying is a way of letting us know that in our fallen world bad thing will happen to good people and good things will happen to bad people, it is just a fact of life. In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, we see that this holds true as the rich man who was not a very good person lived a lavish lifestyle receiving everything he wanted and Lazarus the righteous man lived his life as a homeless beggar. Why did the rich jerk seemingly come ahead at every turn while the meek and lowly good guy lived a tough life and couldn’t catch a break? As Jesus gets deeper in the story, we see that eternity is the great equalizer as their rolls switch and Lazarus is in enteral paradise and the rich man finds himself begging for mercy in eternal punishment. So why does this life give sour grapes to those who deserve better and ripe apples to those who do not deserve it? The answer is simple, none of us deserve good things on this earth, our sinful state has sent God’s perfect creation into a downward tailspin.
People say why would a loving God allow a child to get cancer and suffer, why would He let a high school student die in a car accident, or why would He let pestilence and famine devastate entire nations. The problem is that we are blaming God for something that is not His fault, all these things was brought into existence by our sins. God created a perfect earth that we were meant to live on forever, but our sin brought about sickness, disease, and death. The suffering of Lazarus had nothing to do with his behavior it was simply a product of a fallen and rebellious creation. Lazarus was faithful to God while on this earth so now he has an eternity to look forward to in peace and comfort in the presence of God. Until Jesus returns and sets things straight on the fallen earth is going to continue to rain on the just and unjust, but the good news is that this world is only temporary. Lazarus and the rich man discovered life is just a short vapor and what happens to us here on earth really does not matter, but who we have our faith in certainly does. Lazarus placed his faith in God, and he was eternally rewarded for it, the rich man trusted in his wealth, and he was eternally punished for it. When we open our eyes in eternity it will be too late to trust in the Lord (Jesus), this is why we must have our hearts set now on pursuing the things of God’s Kingdom now.

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