By Staff
We do not know everything God has to deal with. We know something of the universe, and we are told in the New Testament epistle to the Colossians that "in Him all things hold together" (Colossians 1:17). So, God maintains the universe-every galaxy, every star, every planet, every asteroid, etc. Not sure how much effort that takes, but it all seems to be going well.
God has to deal with the devil. God created him and will one day cast him into the burning lake of fire (Revelation 20:10). God could dispatch the devil any time He wanted, so the devil must not be that big of a problem for God.
People are another matter. Man, speaking of the human race, is the crowning touch of God's creation. God gave man intellect, the power to reason, and the power to choose against God, the Creator.
It started in the Garden of Eden. God created man and placed him in an idyllic environment. Everything was provided. Man started alone, but God saw that man had a need and created woman (Genesis 2:18). It was not long before man chose against God and disobeyed the only law on the books. The result was that man was expelled from the garden and his life was changed (Genesis 3:16-19). Man's disobedience was a huge loss for man.
Life went on for a few centuries. Man continued to revolt until God had enough. In Genesis, chapter 6, verses 6-7, we read, "The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the LORD said, 'I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth-men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air-for I am grieved that I have made them.'"
The result was a great worldwide flood that destroyed every living thing except a man named Noah, his family, and representative animals and creatures that were preserved on the ark (Genesis 7:7-9).
The flood abated and civilization started over. God made a vow about His creation after the flood. He said in Genesis, chapter 8, verse 21, "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done." Man's sin had wrought such destruction that God had to do something about it.
Things did not get any better after the flood between God and man. God sought to bless the earth and all people through Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 12:2-3), but wickedness prevailed once again, and God sent His own people into exile and captivity (2 Chronicles 36:15-21).
Eventually the exile was over and God's people returned to Israel, but the heart of man was still not turned toward God.
The destruction of most people, animals and creation, civilizations, etc., did not seem to turn the hearts of people toward God. God was and is still intent on reconciling His creation to Himself. The ultimate plan was not to destroy large numbers of people or things anymore, but for God to sacrifice His Son, Jesus Christ.
The gospel of John, chapter 3, verse 16, declares that "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."
People are God's biggest problem. We have cost God His Son. But through the death of Jesus Christ, God's Son, on the cross, salvation is offered to all who will believe.
The apostle Paul said of this great transaction in Colossians, chapter 1, verses 19-20, that "God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."
God has fixed it all for us. All we have to do is believe in Jesus Christ and in His finished work on the cross in our behalf.