Intersection of this Life and the next Life
I don’t always get it right, but I try to seek peace and calm. Nevertheless, there’s a by-product to peace and calm……I must have a reckoning with the thoughts in my head.
The one thought that plagues me is difficult to describe. It’s a nagging agitation. It’s like something’s wrong, and it can’t be fixed. It can’t tamed. It can’t be controlled. I can forget about it momentarily, but it’s always there when my mind quietens….a constant sense of irritation knowing that’s this world is screwed up.
A friend of mine died of cancer recently. He was a great, God-fearing person. His death proves there is simply no justice on this earth. There’s a verse in the Bible about all things working for good. Romans 8:28 says: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. I’ve never liked that verse. I’d never say it to my friend’s family, and I don’t want it said to me right now.
However…..sigh….it’s in the Bible, so I have to consider it. How can the pre-mature death of a great person be used by God for the good of those who love him. He left a widow and three kids. He was one of those rare people who actually set a good example as a Christian. If there’s a way this works out for good on this earth, I don’t see it. God is God-I’m not. God’s understanding is obviously beyond my understanding , but I still don’t see it.
Nevertheless, I must also consider that there’s an eternal life beyond this earthly life. Perhaps, the bad things that happen during our earthly life are used for our good in our eternal life. There’s a life after this one. It’s a forever life, and it’s more important than this earthly one. Maybe somehow, someway in the next life, the tragedy of our earthly lives actually works for our good. It’s the only thing that makes sense.