You might take issue with the idea of the fall of man as recorded in the book of Genesis. You might not attribute the state of man to sin, but you would have to work very hard to avoid the evidence that man is prone to misery.

Even a superficial reading of the news provides ample evidence that there is something wrong with man. Stories of war, crime, assault, abuse, neglect and selfishness can be found on every page. We see all around us the effects of the fall of man.

It seems to me that even those who would not acknowledge the idea of sin still have feelings that they should be better than they are. Almost any sentence that begins with the words, “I ought . . .” would give evidence in support of this assertion.

Every good story has some tension or a struggle in the plot followed by a happy ending. The story of the people of God is no exception. I will repeat the summary of the Bible that I quoted in my post about Question 12, “God made it, we broke it and Jesus came to fix it.

Upon his return, before the son could even propose the terms of the revised relationship, the Father embraces the son. The Father’s love was not conditioned upon anything that the son had to say. The embrace said everything about the relationship.

God not only powerfully preserves and governs, but he does so in holiness and wisdom. God is big enough to bring about his plan for this world. No Caesar, no king, no dictator, no president or any world leader can thwart what God will accomplish.