When traveling, it is easy to understand that the directions we take play a critical role in the destination we reach. The same principle is true spiritually. The general direction we pursue while living our life day after day has a great bearing on the destination we reach at our journey's end.

Some claim that they know there is no God due to the bad things they observe in the world:

  • War and violence
  • Accidents and illness
  • Disease and famine
  • Abuse, sometime in the name of what is called "religion"

The general line of reasoning is, "If an all-powerful and / or all-loving God existed, these things would not occur. Therefore there is no God."

All that God created was indeed "good." Evidence of that goodness may be observed daily in nature, in a newborn infant, in a good deed done for another human being and in many other cases. However, just as every human being is born bearing the image of God and the potential for doing great good, we each also possess the potential to reject God and commit great evil that can disrupt and destroy not only our own life, but also the lives of others.

God gives each of us the freedom to choose both direction and destination in our lives. One can choose to pursue a good and Godly direction, or one can choose to pursue selfish or other self-deluding paths of life, enthroning self in place of God. The latter path results in the destruction we see all around us now, and if unchanged, will result in greater tragedy for the individual later. It is easy for us to convince ourselves that we are wise and live in an enlightened time. As the apostle Paul reminds us so clearly in Romans 1:18-23, putting away the knowledge of God leads to darkness, foolishness, and tragedy.

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things."