What would we expect?

A lot of people get fixated on the conditions of this world of ours, as if there's something wrong with the fact that there's a lot wrong with the world. Yes, there's a lot of troubles and disasters, sickness and wars, misfortunes and Murphy's Law, tragedies and heartaches. But, really, what would we expect?

Is there any evidence, scientific or otherwise, that would support the assumption that this world should be better than it is? Does an observation of other worlds lead to the conclusion that something is dreadfully out of sync about our world, that it is not as good, benevolent, predictable or supportive to our desires and plans as it ought to be? In fact, some people reason from the brokenness of this world to the faulty conclusion that there is no God. Atheist author Richard Dawkins wrote, "The universe that we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, as bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but pitiless indifference." He wrongly assumes that this problematic condition of the universe is the way it always has been, rather than something it has become.

But, if you assume that this world's problems and ills, in all their varied forms and descriptions, are a result of the brokenness of this world, as opposed to some kind of contradiction of its goodness, much less a proof of the godless emptiness of the world, then all the mishaps, woes, burdens and griefs appear as what would be expected, rather than something out of place. After all, if you broke your arm in a fall, you wouldn't expect it to feel the same as the unbroken one, would you?

And broken, corrupted, damaged and downfallen is exactly what this world is, according to the Bible. Because of mankind's fall into sin, death and disease, trouble and travails have come upon the whole world and all who live in it. But Paul revealed that this corruption is not without purpose, when he said, "For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God." (Romans 8:20-21)

Man's spiritual rebellion from His Creator has had consequences for the whole world, and even the universe. God allowed the creation to be corrupted by man's sin, rather than leave sinful mankind in a perfect environment where they would forget about God even more than they do in this broken world. Mankind is the centerpiece of God's spiritual creation, so it is to be expected that a separation of man from the blessings of God would be felt in the physical creation as well.

But there is good news amid the trouble. The restoration of the world will follow the same schedule as the spiritual restoration of mankind, which will come only when God is once again ruling over the whole world, and every knee bows before King Jesus! Until that day, God is using the corruption of this world to highlight and even support the restoration of man's heart through the salvation of His Son, Jesus. We may expect trouble in this world, but God has promised to use "all things", even trouble, to accomplish His will and righteousness. We may also expect that as well!