How many of us ask our own version of this question? Why was I born into poverty? Why do I live in a land of famine? Why am I a refugee? Why was I orphaned so young? Why was I sexually abused as a child? Why am I mentally challenged? Why am I physically disabled? Why can I not have children? Why am I gay? Why am I married to such a cruel person? Why do I suffer from an incurable disease? Why must I carry such a burden of guilt from my former ways? What is God thinking? Does he or does he not seek my blessing and happiness? Why does he torture me in this way?

Years ago, I knew a young man named Steve whose arm was withered and useless. It affected many aspects of his life and, to some extent, made him quite dependent on others. Not once, though, did I hear Steve complain about his infirmity. Indeed, often he would smile and talk about the future and how, one day, God would give him a new and perfect body – and his friends’ hearts were lifted by his genuine excitement. God himself had given this young man the faith to look beyond his personal circumstances and to see his withered arm as an opportunity to share in a unique way the love of Christ to those around him. Steve praised God despite his difficulties – maybe even because of them – and we praised God because of his vibrant faith.

As children of God, we are put on this earth for a reason. We were known to God and loved by him even before he made this world. He clothed our spirit with a physical body at a very specific place and time, having prepared for us a lifetime of challenges through which we can learn to love him, rely on him, and praise him. In the Revelation of Jesus Christ to Paul, the apostle’s attention was drawn especially to those martyred for the cause of Christ, and we can be sure that those who overcome the most difficult challenges in this life will be the most blessed in the next. They are God’s most special children, known by him to have the faith and character needed to overcome the most testing of times.

Kim Hyun-hui will never know what became of her family in North Korea. She must live in a secret location, protected night and day by a cadre of bodyguards because of the constant threat of assassination. She knows that 115 innocent victims died, and many thousands of others faced deep personal loss, because of her actions. Why did she have to be born in North Korea? Because this was God’s plan for her before the creation of the world. Having embraced Jesus Christ and experienced his forgiveness, she now reveals most vividly, to millions around the globe, the power and reach of his love.

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.”

We are born with an innate sense of justice. When an innocent is murdered, we want to believe that, ultimately, justice will be done. As CS Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity Gift Edition, “My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I gotten this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?” God gave us a conscience, a window to his own personality, a perspective on life that often contradicts our animal instincts yet brings us comfort. We sense that, no matter what happens on earth, justice will ultimately prevail.

The source of this comfort, though, is also the source of our despair – for all of us will be judged according to our deeds. On the scales of God’s justice, even the best we have to offer is nothing more than filthy rags. We are “infected and impure with sin” and, as a consequence, cannot enter the presence of a holy God. Contrary to the popular understanding of God’s omnipotence, he cannot do simply anything: In particular, he cannot act contrary to his personality (and thank God for this, or his promises could not be believed). Justice must be served on the guilty, or God would not be God. When we wish for a God who dispenses justice, we seek our own destruction.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones poses the question: “As Christians we believe that the Son of God came into this world, that He laid aside the insignia of His eternal glory, was born as a babe in Bethlehem, and endured all that He endured, because that was essential for our salvation. But the question is…Why did all that have to take place before we could be saved? Why did Christ die? Why had He to die?” The answer is clear: because justice must be served. God cannot deny his personality. He cannot wave a magic wand and declare us innocent when we are guilty. We are called to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect, but we choose instead to walk another path – to indulge our animal instincts for personal survival and gratification over self-sacrifice and service and a Christ-like spirit.

While justice must be meted out, God’s solution reveals the very heart of his being: Christ, who knew no sin, chose “to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” As declared by the prophet Isaiah, “he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.” Justice is served yet we are saved – because of the ultimate sacrifice of the judge himself. God does dispense justice, indeed has to dispense justice, yet he offers mercy to his children.

The idea behind the concept of mentalics can shed light on our identity and role as Christians in the world. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ. He knew us before he knit our spirit with “bones and sinews.” We don’t know about our existence prior to being born in this world, of that secret place where our Father created us, but we can be sure we entered this world as God’s children. We are different from the population at large. Spiritually dead in our sins and unable to do anything about it, God made us alive through Christ.

With eyes that can now spiritually see and ears that can now spiritually hear, certain events and chance encounters trigger our awareness of being children of God. As we walk through life, we take great joy in meeting and sharing communion with our brothers and sisters in Christ. I’ve had the privilege of visiting many countries around the world, and it’s always exciting to meet fellow believers. Despite the cultural differences, the various forms of worship, and language barriers, there’s an instant bond when we encounter a fellow believer for the first time. We’re God’s children, and we’ll spend time together beyond the short years allotted to us on earth.

It’s all too easy to find ourselves being conformed to the pattern of this world instead of allowing God to transform us to be more like Jesus. We become wrapped up in politics, we claim financial resources as our own instead of acting as God’s stewards, and our lives are barely distinguishable from those of the wider population. Instead, we should grasp with both hands our precious identity as children of God – bought with a price and given new life. We are a chosen people, royal priests, a holy nation, and God’s very own possession. He called us out of darkness and into his wonderful light.

Just as the fictitious mentalics experienced momentary insights into their special role in the world, God’s people are attuned to the master’s voice. The more time passes, the more we realize that this world is temporary and that our lives are something of a test. God speaks to us through the person and words of Christ and the personal challenges we face each day. And we are not alone: We share our earthly existence with millions of other believers, whom it is exciting to know.

Jesus is pictured in the ancient law of Israel. Indeed, the Old Testament commandments are not just a prescription for living but a description of God himself – one who will not lie, who will not steal our souls, and who is forever faithful. Within the Godhead, the Son honors the Father. The Old Testament prophets, inspired by God, documented remarkably precise details of Jesus’ life many centuries before his birth. The historical accuracy of the Bible proves the credibility of its message: It is a precise lens focused on the person and work of Christ.

The New Testament gospels reveal the extraordinary personality of God in Christ. Left to our imagination, we might invent an untouchable sovereign capable of doing anything, dishing out favors to those who serve him and punishing those who reject him – but that’s not how he is at all. Instead, in the person of Jesus, God himself laughed and cried with us, avoided the trappings of privilege and power, questioned the piety of religious leaders, and was touched by the innocence of children. No one – whether rejected madman or serial adulterer or battle-scarred soldier – is beyond his reach or redemption. He willingly subjected himself to suffering and death – at the hands of the very people he came to save – because our God can save his people in no other way.

Whereas the revelations of science are a threat to comfortable religious tradition, they bring into sharp focus the creative genius behind our world. The workings of the universe reveal Jesus Christ: the one who tuned the physical constants and guided events to create a vast web of beauty. He carefully prepared for us human bodies with the senses needed to understand and embrace him. It’s a world that we can enjoy and begin to understand. It’s a world that God himself could enter as a man.

In On Being a Theologian of the Cross: Reflections on Luther’s Heidelberg Disputation, 1518 (Theology), Gerhard Forde emphasizes the importance of Luther’s insight: “The cross alone is our theology.” The inspired words of the Bible, and the whole of creation, life, and human thought, exist for one reason: to reveal Christ as “the power of God and the wisdom of God” and his death on the cross as the defining moment of our world. As a Christian song puts it: “In his death is our birth; in his life is our life.”

Similarly provocative and often crude works of art have denigrated the person of Christ. In Terrence McNally’s play Corpus Christi: Playing with Redemption, the character Jesus participates in gay sex with his disciples. A photograph entitled Piss Christ, winner of several awards and recipient of public funding in the USA, “depicts a small plastic crucifix submerged in a glass of the artist’s urine.” Elephant dung and pornographic images adorn the virgin Mary in a painting by Chris Ofili. The spirit of Christ prevails, however, and no violent protests have surrounded the release of these offensive artistic statements.

Jesus’ exhortation to his followers is clear: We are to be peacemakers, and not to resist an evil person but to offer the other cheek. Jesus knew that we would be hated solely for following him – yet he urges us to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us. Jesus’ Kingdom is not of this world, so we must not pursue violence even in the face of the most cruel and unfair opposition.

Sadly, some individuals choose to ignore the teachings of Christ and pursue violence against those in society who contest Christian teaching and attitudes. Eric Rudolph, in addition to killing innocent bystanders at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, attacked an abortion clinic and a lesbian nightclub. In a written deposition, he claimed that such actions were warranted because of the “legalization of abortion” and “aberrant sexual behavior.” But such actions run contrary to the love of Christ, which demands that we do all we can to “live in peace with everyone” – something at which we must work daily.

In Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth, we read that “an eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.” In Gandhi, Portrayal of a Friend, the Christian missionary E. Stanley Jones went further: The opponent strikes you on your cheek, and you strike him on the heart by your amazing spiritual audacity in turning the other cheek. You wrest the offensive from him by refusing to take his weapons, by keeping your own, and by striking him in his conscience from a higher level. He hits you physically, and you hit him spiritually. This is the true spirit of Christ.

Sinful to the core, no man can see God and live. Moses sought God’s very presence, yet this godly leader could not look directly at the face of God. We can see the very personality of God in the written accounts of the person of Jesus – who reveals God to us. We can also experience the love of God through the community of believers. Nonetheless, God must maintain his ‘apartness’ from us; our state of moral rebellion prevents us from seeing his face.

Jews, in particular, are very careful to respect the names of God. Observant Jews will not casually write out any name of God, to ensure there is no possibility in the future of it ever being erased or defaced: Jewish authors, for example, will write ‘G-d’ and not ‘God’. Indeed, it has become something of a tradition within the Jewish faith to use substitute names. Some rabbis assert that a person who pronounces YHVH according to its letters (instead of using a substitute) has no place in the world to come. Within the Christian communion, we observe many traditions that remind us of the holiness of God. Men may remove their hats when entering a church building. Some stand to pray while others kneel or even prostrate themselves.

In today’s Christian culture, it’s not uncommon to hear speakers refer to God as our buddy, and we can even buy t-shirts proclaiming that “Jesus is my homeboy.” While the sentiments reflected in these comments are valid, because Jesus came from Heaven itself to meet us where we are, there is a very real danger that we will lose sight of the awesomeness and holiness of God – the one before whom every knee shall bow. A couple of years ago, I felt most uncomfortable when expected in a church service to sing the words “heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss,” because such unfortunate imagery degrades the supremely sacrificial love of God into a questionable, some might even say vulgar, emotional act. By blending our ideas of God with popular culture, we fail to understand the apartness of God.

In The Knowledge of the Holy: The Attributes of God: Their Meaning in the Christian Life, AW Tozer wrote that “we cannot grasp the true meaning of divine holiness. It stands apart, unique, unapproachable, incomprehensible, and unattainable. The nature of man is blind to it. He may fear God’s power and admire His wisdom, but His holiness, he can never even imagine.” RC Sproul in The Holiness of God reminds us that “access to the Father is ours. But we still must tremble before our God. He is still holy.”

In the words of the ancient Sanctus, “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.”

Human beings are distinct from other creatures on earth. We are both a “child of the fruitful earth” and a “child of the starry heavens.” We are “sons of men” and “sons of God.” Physically, we are great apes, and our genetic code is almost identical to that of the other great apes. Like other beasts of the earth, we hunger and thirst and eat and drink. We breathe, we sleep, and we reproduce. Yet, astonishingly, we are also made in the image of God. Since God is Spirit, man is a spiritual creature. We can sing and worship, hold and promote opinions, and even love those that hate us. God himself clothed our spiritual essence with physical skin and flesh. Even while housed in a physical body, our spirit can commune with God, its creator.

The most heinous form of rebellion against God is to reject our godly heritage and to worship the beast within us: to seek to be animals rather than children of God. This may have been the reason for the Noahic flood. The punishment for bestiality prescribed in the Old Testament is uncompromising and especially harsh. Jesus reiterated that those who callously reject the Spirit of God, and by implication their own spiritual identity, will not be forgiven. To his own children, however, who persevere in seeking his face, God himself will reaffirm their identity in him by giving them a new name.

Names have meaning and are an important part of our identity. They are born out of a relationship and indicate a sense of belonging. God himself has a name that, throughout history, he has chosen to reveal to his people. The Savior’s name was revealed before his birth. Just as God made man in his own image and gave him a name, so Adam was called to name all creatures in the physical realm – to indicate not only authority but also kinship and association. Today, we name our pets as a sign that they are an important part of the family and of our lives.

Something of our identity is stripped away when our names are belittled or discarded. The inhumanity of Nazism, for example, cared not for the precious identity of individual Jews but instead replaced given names with identity numbers tattooed on the chest or forearm. An identity based solely on fingerprint patterns or retina scans or DNA is, perhaps, the most naturalistic approach of all. In this scenario, too, personal names serve no purpose. The spiritual side of man is pushed aside; only the beast survives.

Too often, today’s Christian cultural leaders pick and choose which Christian values to impose on society in general, often with a spirit of accusation. It’s wrong, however, for us to offer compassion to some while actively discriminating against others. Do we publicly harangue, for example, those husbands who leave their families for another? Do we politicize the matter in an attempt to legislate against second marriages? Do we proclaim on radio and television the evils of their lifestyle and how they will be punished by God? Yet the Bible verses used to demonize gays also condemn adulterers. Why do we offer compassion and forgiveness to heterosexuals who are unfaithful while mocking and demeaning gays who choose to remain celibate or faithful to a single partner for a lifetime?

Committed couples who are gay should have the same rights and privileges in society as committed couples who are straight. They should be offered the same social benefits and the same common courtesies as other couples. While church leaders must never be forced to renounce biblical teaching by performing gay marriage ceremonies, Christians should not be protesting gay unions outside the church body. By doing so, we forget our own moral turpitude – as if, before God, we are somehow more worthy than our neighbor. Jesus’ arms, however, are open wide to receive all who repent and embrace him as Lord and Savior. He alone can declare us righteous, and he alone can work in our hearts to truly transform us.

We are to live properly among our unbelieving neighbors so they can see the love of God in action. “Even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.” Jesus calls on us to love those with whom we disagree. We are not simply to tolerate them or to quietly ignore them. Instead, we are called to actively do good, to bless, to pray, and to help meet practical needs – always remembering that our most righteous deeds are no more morally acceptable to God than the worst abuses of our enemies.

In his book The God Who Is There, Francis Schaeffer observed that “Biblical orthodoxy without compassion is surely the ugliest thing in the world.” Can Christians demonstrate the love of Christ while maintaining that practicing homosexuality is morally wrong? Several years ago, members of a conservative Baptist church offered free bottles of water to gay activists marching under a hot sun. While not endorsing the gay lifestyle, the church pastor explained that he wanted to dismantle “that sense of self-righteousness and superiority [that] runs rampant in our church.” His solution was to follow in the footsteps of his Master, who “came not to be served but to serve others.” Jesus’ message is clear: “Let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

Dr. Nelson Glueck, in his book Rivers in the desert: A history of the Negev, wrote that “it may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a Biblical reference. Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or in exact detail historical statements in the Bible. And, by the same token, proper evaluation of Biblical descriptions has often led to amazing discoveries.” Archaeology has proved the existence and regional power of King David, many of the other kings of ancient Israel, and even religious leaders and scribes quoted in the book of Nehemiah. On a personal trip to Jerusalem, I learned how one archeological dig had revealed exactly what Isaiah had meant when he wrote, “you survey the houses and tear some down for stone to strengthen the walls:” King Hezekiah built a city wall in such great haste that it cut some houses in two.

Years ago, when performing physics research, I came across a peer-reviewed paper published in a technical journal of mathematics in which the author applied various statistical techniques, such as average word and sentence lengths, to the books of the New Testament. One of his conclusions was that a single author penned all the letters attributed to the apostle Paul. If the analysis had revealed different authors, the results would have challenged the authenticity of the Bible. (Incidentally, the same research paper claimed that Paul did not write the unattributed letter to the Hebrews.)

With confidence, we can test ideas against the text of the Bible. For example, Jesus clearly told his disciples that he would be dead for three full days and nights. Further, the Bible implies that, during the week of the crucifixion, there were two Sabbaths: After the first, the women purchased spices. Once the spices were prepared, they rested on the second Sabbath. In this scenario, Jesus was crucified on a Wednesday, and the two Sabbaths were on Thursday and Saturday. The first Sabbath would have corresponded to the remembrance of Passover for that year (AD32). Did Passover fall on a Thursday in the year AD32? The formula for calculating the date of Passover is complex but yields a date of April 14. Another calculation reveals that this date corresponds to a Thursday. In other words, it is plausible that Jesus died before sundown on Wednesday and was raised from the dead some time after sundown on Saturday.

Some statements in the Bible, while not contradicted, have yet to be verified. For example, no evidence has yet come to light to support the census, required by Augustus Caesar, that forced Mary and Joseph to make the long journey from Galilee to Judea. We must never be afraid, though, of looking for such evidence. The God who wanted Jesus’ followers to enter the empty tomb continues to roll stones away for us. Following Jesus requires an act of faith, but it is not blind faith.

In Molecular Cell Biology, we read that collagen consists of a unique sequence of 1,055 amino acids. The precise angle of one particular chemical bond in the molecule “enables each polypeptide chain to fold into a helix with a geometry such that three polypeptide chains can twist together to form a three-stranded helix.” This remarkable structure gives collagen its unique properties. If the dimensions of these strands or the angle of their chemical bonds were different, our bodies would be useless and we would be blind.

The process by which our bodies manufacture collagen is complex and occurs both inside and outside a cell. According to researchers, its biosynthesis resembles the fastening of a zipper. Only after three decades of painstaking research were scientists able to replicate the process in the lab to create artificial collagens.

The progression of life on earth from simple to complex forms depends on the existence of finely tuned molecules such as collagens. While their emergence during the process of evolution is certainly possible, it is highly improbable. What are the chances of 1,055 amino acids being found in exactly the right sequence? In A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson concludes that the odds are about one in ten to the power of 259. While a confirmed naturalist might conclude that “of course it’s possible because we exist,” the more logical mind must consider the possibility that the progress of evolution was carefully guided by an outside intelligence.

Being forced to accept the implications of the Anthropic Principle, the atheist Fred Hoyle confessed that “the universe is a put-up job.” When we consider the complexity and importance of collagens in the animal kingdom, it is difficult to escape the same conclusion about life on earth.