As I mentioned in a previous post, one of our dogs died last week. Charlie, a dachshund, slipped a disk and started going paralysed and we had to have him put down. We were devastated. And even though Charlie was only a dog, I found myself asking, “Why did God allow this to happen? Charlie wasn’t a bad dog! Why not cause bad dogs to slip a disk? Why did he do to deserve it? What did we do that God is punishing our dog?”
Many in our church have suffered greatly, losing loved ones, parents, siblings, friends and even children. We have all seen the suffering caused by disease, death and disaster. Because we are created in the image of God, we instinctively know that there is something wrong with our world and this is not how it’s supposed to be. Perhaps the most common question people have is, “Why does a good God allow suffering and sorrow and slipped disks? Why do bad things happen to good people?”
Yesterday we sadly had to have one of our beloved dogs put down. Charlie had suddenly developed intervertebral disk disease (IVDD) and his hind quarters were rapidly paralysed. I have never thought much about pets and heaven – but am doing so now! Will our pets be in heaven?
An eternal Heaven is a reality the Bible often speaks about. In fact, the Bible speaks about a new heavens and a new earth. This is long hand for saying a Renewed Universe. Just as in Genesis 1:1 where “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”, Isaiah 65:17 says that God will create a new heavens and a new earth for His glory and the good of his people.
We live in a world that is changing fast. For many years in South Africa we have enjoyed a nominally Christian worldview (of course there were blatant inconsistencies1 also). Church was seen as good. Adultery and pornography were seen as bad. Homosexuality was seen as a deviance, not a viable, alternative, healthy lifestyle. Marriage was held in honour. Abortion was seen as evil. Creation, as opposed to evolution, was still an accepted worldview. Jesus as Lord and Saviour was taught in schools.