When I looked around me at all the suffering, inequality and unfairness in the world today, I recognized that if there was no life after death, then all these victims were without any hope, whatsoever.

While realizing how very unfair life would be if there was no God, I found that if there really was a loving Creator, then there was hope, justice, reward and forgiveness available to those who would respond to His love and begin to follow Him.

I found encouragement and support in Matthew 11:28, 29 where God said, “If you are tired from carrying the heavy burdens of life, come to me and I will give you rest. Just make the simple effort of getting to know me, and learn my ways, because I am gentle and humble, and you’ll discover that my ways will bring you rest.”

I found justice in Romans 12:19 that advised me, “Don’t let yourself be consumed with getting revenge, my dear friends. Trust me when I say, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay, says the Lord’.”

I found hope in Psalm 146:5 that said, “The Lord God will bless everyone who trusts Him and depends on Him.” Indeed, many verses spoke of this hope, like Jeremiah 29:11 that said, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

I found a source of strength in Isaiah 40:31 which said, “But those who get to know and build trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will be strong like eagles soaring on wings; they will walk and run without getting tired.”

And most importantly of all, I found there were forgiveness and protection from the eternal consequences of sin when I read 1 John 1:9. “If we admit our sins to God, He is faithful and just to protect us from the eternal consequences of our sins, and to not hold them against us.”

What a contrast these verses provided to the hopelessness of a world with no God. With God I found hope for the hopeless, justice for the victims and pardon for those who are truly sorry for offending their Creator. This was available for those who would begin to follow Jesus, who by dying on a cross for the sins of the world had made the hope, justice and pardon possible.

Finally, I found all this good news summed up in John 3:16 that said, “God loved the people He created so much that He allowed His own innocent Son to be punished in their place for their sin so that anyone who decides to follow Him can be protected from the eternal consequences of their sin, and instead go to heaven and never suffer the horror of being forever separated from God’s presence and all that is good.”