We would all agree that this world can be horribly unfair. People die and suffer. Evil seems to rule. Just a quick look at the news shows us that all around the world there are unjust things happening.
Solomon made that same observation thousands of years ago. In Ecclesiastes 3:16, he said, “Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness.”
Solomon was observing the same things that we are seeing. That under the sun (here on earth), where there should be fairness, there is wickedness.
But how do we as Christians reconcile the fact that we serve a loving God and yet live in an unloving world? Does God not care about us?
He actually gives the answer in the very next verse. In verse 17, he says, “I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work.”
Now Solomon is narrowing in on a much bigger topic. Just like only part of an iceberg can be seen from the surface, Solomon is pointing to the tip of the iceberg-like topic. He is essentially saying, “Hey, there is suffering out there right now, and things do not seem fair, but one day God will return and judge the unjust.”
But looking at the bigger picture – the one that Solomon did not have a complete understanding of in his Old Testament setting – he is actually pointing to the fact that Jesus Christ will one day return and make all things better. This is the part of the iceberg we can’t see yet, but it is there.
There is horrible suffering out there and there are a lot of wicket people. But one day when Jesus returns, not only will he judge all people, but he will also fix all the brokenness. When he returns, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
So let me encourage you to put your hope in the future. The future that one day Jesus will make all things right. HE is our hope, even during the difficult and unjust times of life.