Why Doesn’t God Just Strike Them Down?

Q: I don’t understand why God allows some people to be hostile toward Him and treat Him like an enemy. Why doesn’t God just strike them down (which is what they deserve), instead of letting them get by with it? — Mrs. B.R.

A: If God treated each of us the way we deserve to be treated, would any of us be left? No, of course not — because we have all sinned against Him and treated Him as if He were our enemy. The Bible bluntly says, “All have turned away … there is no one who does good, not even one” (Romans 3:12).

It’s true, however, that some people hate God and deliberately treat Him like their enemy. They want nothing to do with Him, and may even persecute those who do. Why doesn’t God judge them and strike them down? Sometimes He does — and that should be a sober warning to anyone who hates God and thinks they will get by with it. The Bible warns, “You may be sure that your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23).

But God often delays His judgment, hoping that those who hate Him will eventually realize the error of their ways, repent of their sins, and turn in faith to Christ. I think, for example, of a man in the Bible called Saul of Tarsus, who hated Christians and was determined to do everything he could to destroy them. But one day on the road to Damascus he met Christ. His life was changed — and Saul of Tarsus became Paul the Apostle, devoting the rest of his life to spreading the Gospel.

Pray for those who want nothing to do with God or with Jesus Christ. And pray too that your life will be a living demonstration to them of Christ’s transforming love and truth.

========

(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)

(c)2018 BILLY GRAHAM DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.