This talk is a reflection on suffering. It’s not a Sunday school viewpoint. It’s not God “loves you and everything is going to be ok”, because too often in our world, it isn’t ok. When life doesn’t pan out well, people think God has let them down. But the simple truth is, he never ever promised that. We need to understand today, what God says about life, and what we should expect in our lives. We need to look at this from adult understanding of genuine Christian faith, not ‘salesmen’ Christian faith, not childish faith, but a faith that is formed by the teaching of Jesus.

This reality is a little more shocking to our comfortable western sensibilities, just as it was to the first century Jews when they were talking with Jesus face-to-face. God says that we are all bad. That is, all of us, all humanity, every individual person “will perish unless we repent”. Jesus is saying, we are all facing God’s judgment, because we are all guilty before God. We are guilty of serving ourselves rather than our neighbour; guilty of serving ourselves rather than God. And so we need to repent, of both of those instincts. The late 19^th century idea that came out of the enlightenment, was that humanity is basically good and just needs a good education and good training to flourish. But actually, each of us needs to recognise that we are capable of doing great good, and also great evil. And so individually and collectively, our world is under the right and fair judgement of God. Disease and tragedy, war and earthquakes and flood are daily reminders that this world is under judgement. But they are equally a reminder that there is a world to come without disease and without sadness and without tears. That is the promise of Jesus. The promise that God WILL deliver a beautiful existence – heaven, paradise. God can and does do exactly what he wants, which is the same as what He promises. Because He is sovereign, and he does not change his mind – the same yesterday, today and forever! (Hebrews 13:8)