You may wonder:

• Is there any meaning to life?
• Why is there so much suffering in the world?                 
• How can I make a difference for good in this world?    
• How can I be forgiven?        

God is good. He made the world and loves us all. God loves us all and wants us to turn to Him as our Father. Knowing God makes sense of the world and gives meaning to our lives.

The green arrow represents God creating the world with a good purpose.

This present world is as good as it can be - consistent with God’s purpose of creating people as His children who love Him voluntarily out of their free will. If we were programmed to love God, it would not be real love. Giving people free will meant that, sadly, they sometimes cause other people suffering through their selfish acts. We are all guilty in one way or another.

All the physical processes of creation are necessary to sustain life, but sadly some have inevitable consequences that produce suffering. For example, we need land to live on, but this land is formed by movements of the earth’s crust - which produce earthquakes. We need gravity to keep us from floating into space, but that also means we can hurt ourselves when we fall over. The processes of creation over billions of years which were necessary to produce human beings, also entailed massive suffering and death.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, suffers for us, paying the price for all our sin and guilt. He also shares and identifies with everyone who is suffering.

Jesus is God with us. He died on the Cross because of people’s sins.  Jesus’s follower, Peter, says, “Jesus Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18). When Jesus Christ died, all our sins were borne by Him once for all, so we could be forgiven.

Jesus Christ also suffers when anyone suffers. In Matthew 25:42, He says, “I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink.”

The red downward arrow shows Jesus Christ coming down, dying for our sins, and suffering with us.

God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. God calls us to a new life of righteousness working with His Holy Spirit.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us all hope. When we believe in Jesus and follow Him, God promises us resurrection too. God calls us to work with Him in transforming the world, helping the suffering, combating evil, and calling all people to join God’s family – His new community of love, peace, righteousness and joy.

The purple arrow shows that the Spirit of God is working to bring all His creation to His perfect plan.

How can I be forgiven?

In order to receive forgiveness and a new start we need to turn away from what we know to be wrong, and turn to God. Will you join with Jesus Christ in bringing justice and hope to this world?

Here is a prayer:

Dear God, In the Name of Jesus Christ, please forgive my failures and sins as I turn away from them to You. Please send Your Holy Spirit into my heart and adopt me as Your child. Please help me work with Jesus to change the world for good. Amen.

The three lines together show the whole work of God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – in Creation, Suffering for us, and Recreating the world through His Spirit.

When we turn to God we begin a relationship with Him that will never end. Learn more of Him by reading the Bible – you could begin with Mark’s Gospel and putting into practice what Jesus teaches. (You can find Mark’s Gospel online at https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+1&version=NIV)