The possibility of forever and the presence of unjust pain, and a loving, all-powerful God

The difficulty for those who don’t believe in a possibility of forever, is that if we assume a blissful eternal afterlife does not occur, then we are left with the fact of a horribly unfair and unjust world, which is bound to sit uneasily with the idea of an all-powerful loving and just God. Indeed, I would go as far as to say that assuming the existence of an all-powerful loving and just God is absurd and crazy, if we only looked at this world for evidence, and so did not look forward to a blissful joy filled eternal world to come. So, let’s turn this absurdity on its head and assume the further possibility that if a joy filled and utterly satisfying eternal afterlife does actually exist, then ask ourselves, what are the implications?

Of course, we will only know (or not know) the answer about heaven’s existence beyond this world until we are dead. The point here though is that when we believe in an all-powerful and all-loving and just God first (that is, without evidence-based certainty in the here-and-now), then we must exercise our faith beyond reason and explanation for our present painful and unjust circumstances.  Our faith, in other words, does not depend on knock-down evidence or reason in this world (as this will never be all-conclusive), but has to start with an act of trust or belief in a loving God, often despite our circumstances. However, it is out of this belief and faith that our circumstances ‘can turn’ allowing for our transformation into a better and more liberated human being, as we are no longer dependent on whether our circumstances are favourable, so supposedly revealing the existence of a loving God. But rather the possibilities of growth and development within our circumstances, reveals a loving God who is always operating beyond our view of our present circumstances, and so into our heavenly futures.

As Jesus gives a clear instruction to his disciples in Matthew 6:19-21:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Also see my book Steven R. Smith Nine Steps to Well-Being: A Spiritual Guide for Disconnected Christians and Other Questioning Journeyers.