Our mysterious hope

Honest people recognize the presence of both good and evil in our world. Dr. Jim Denison’s Oct. 8, 2024, Daily Article, described the “utopia thesis.” Philosophers Antony Flew and J. L. Mackie proposed that “an all-knowing, all-loving, all-powerful God could create a world in which people are free and grow to full spiritual maturity without the presence or necessity of evil and suffering. We cannot understand how he might do so, but we’re not God.”

Philosophers have observed there cannot be a perfect society if there is no potential for imperfection. In other words, for there to be good, there must also be the possibility of evil. This sounds logical, but Denison observes that scripture presents just such a utopia – heaven. The Apostle John wrote, “I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, ‘Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.’” (Revelation 21:3-4, NLT) We also learn “the wages of sin is death” in Romans 6:23, so both passages make the point that heaven will be perfect, with the absence of evil in any form.

However, since God will eventually create a perfect society where sin is no longer present, why has he not done this in our world? We do not know, and it is far from the only currently unknowable question in the Christian faith. Denison asks, “How can God be three (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) yet one?” How could Jesus be fully God and fully man? How can the Bible claim to contain the very words of God while also displaying the human writers’ personalities?

Some questions are beyond our present ability to understand. However, because of what we know about God’s goodness and love, we can assume he ultimately has our best interests at heart. We can trust God even when we have questions that do not have satisfactory answers because scripture promises believers will eventually understand much more. “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” (1 Corinthians 13:12, NLT)

Max Lucado quoted a friend who observed, “Everything will work out in the end. If it’s not working out, it’s not the end.” Denison ended his article with this insightful perspective, “While the ‘utopia’ of heaven raises questions about earth, it also offers wonderful assurance about life beyond this life.” This is the ultimate hope for each of us who believe but do not fully understand.