Ecclesiastes 8

***Ecclesiastes 8***

Why do bad things happen to good people?

I think every one of us has been frustrsated in the same way the author of Ecclesiastes was in chapter 8. The wicked get what the righteous deserve and the righteous get what the wicked deserve.

Sometimes it just doesn't seem fair.

The truth is this... we are all bad people. That's what sin is, it corrupts us and we are stained by it. Sure, there are some people that are better than others, but no one is righteous. We may be good Christians 23 hours and 45 minutes per day, but there is still that 15 minutes where we give someone the finger for cutting us off, or we do not show proper respect to our parents, or we lust after that person or that new thing that our friend has that we have to have now.

We are all in the same boat when it comes to our ability to be righteous.

On Sunday I was ordained. It was a magical day. Hundreds of friends and family came to be a part of the worship and stayed for the dinner. There was so much love pouring out... it was humbling and overwhelming. All the while I kept thinking to myself "I don't deserve this." There is no way that I could have earned the love that I was given on Sunday.

That is why grace is such good news. Grace, by definition can not be earned, only given.

The question we should be asking is "why do good things happen to bad people (us)?"

Because of grace. Every gift we have been given is a sign of grace. And there is no greater sign of grace than this "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, so that those who believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life"

We are only righteous because He is righteous. We are saved because He saved us.