spiritual struggles
Question and Answer
If God is a powerful and loving Father, why doesn't He do something about the mess on earth?
Actually, He has already done something amazing. God has always ruled the universe through love; Satan has tried to rule through tyranny. God had no intention of using Satan's methods. He would not force people to follow Him. Instead, God would offer them a way of escape from Satan's clutches, and to make their escape possible, He would sacrifice Himself.
Once the first humans chose Satan instead of God, there was no turning back. They would have to die, because death is always the result of choosing Satan. God is a life-giver, but Satan can neither create life nor sustain it. Sadly, Adam and Eve's choice was passed on to everything and everyone else on earth. From their day to ours, death has touched the entire human race.
But God stepped in to deliver the human race from the effects of sin and death.
Choose life
The Bible's New Testament tells the story of God's love for His children: God sent His Son to earth as a human being to undo Adam's tragic mistake, to choose life for the human race where Adam chose death!
Jesus, who was at the same time completely man and entirely God, was born to the virgin Mary, worked quietly in a carpenter's shop until He turned 30, and then began a three-year career of teaching and healing. The crowds loved Him, but the religious and political leaders were afraid of His growing influence. They conspired to have Him executed one Friday afternoon in the spring, and Jesus died on a cross just outside the capital city limits.
The religious and political leaders would have been happy if the story had ended there, but it didn't. Early Sunday morning, Jesus burst back into life again and walked out of the tomb, right past the soldiers posted by the entrance to prevent Jesus' friends from stealing His body. (See Matthew 28:1-7.)
He appeared to His closest friends, to His family, to several groups of awestruck followers — in all, to hundreds of people who were well aware that He had died a horrible death only days before.
Christians understand that Jesus died in their place, that in some indescribable way He took the sins of the world on His shoulders and suffered for them as if He, not Adam, had chosen to follow Satan. Jesus died the death that Adam, and all the rest of us, deserve.
When Jesus rose from the dead, He broke Satan's powers over the human race. No longer were people forced to choose death. No longer was the planet certain to decay and die. Jesus brought life, and He offered it — in fact, He still offers it — to anyone who has faith in Him: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
Background Information
If I had Faked the Resurrection
Only a Master-Planner would have arranged such a perfect series of events.
Jesus: Liar, Lunatic or Lord?
How could one man turn the world upside down?
Questions and Answers
How can anyone watch the evening news and seriously say that the universe is run by a loving Father?
Answer
How could Jesus Christ die for everyone's sins? Isn't every person responsible for his own sins?
Answer
Just what is sin? Who decides what is or isn't sin?
Answer
Review Frequently Asked Questions
Stories
Salvation in Times of Crisis
Losing her father at a young age was the beginning of this woman questioning God's plan.
If you've been through a experience related to this topic, we invite you to share your story with others.Share Your Story
Other Things to Consider
A Relentless Pursuit
At the time I became Christ's, my life was consumed by feminist politics and the gay and lesbian community.
Spend It Any Way You Like
Sometimes, the meaning of life is found in the most surprising places.
The Cross: What It Isn't, What It Is
Does Christ's cross have any power to help you?
The Perfect Family
In a world where even the best of families have problems, can there really be a "perfect family"?
Related Topics
Transitions: Changing Jobs, Moving
Relationships: Communication Gaps
Parenting Teens: Communication Problems
