Worthy of the Kingdom

We can never deserve to be saved, but God's purpose is to declare us worthy of it, and so he allows us to endure suffering for his sake now. While this is happening, we need to know that God will repay everyone for what they do against his purpose and people, not so we can gloat but so we can be sure that God is well able to deal with his enemies. When Christ comes, it will be an indescribably happy occasion, Christ bestowing his fullness on us, and us with eyes for no-one but him. So, we pray for one another, that God will have us ready for this day by letting Christ be glorified in us now as he will be then.

Evil can be restrained but never reformed. God does restrain evil, in all manner of ways, but when the restraints are removed, evil will still be what it is, and will still be so when Christ comes to destroy it. In the mean time, Satan has his purpose, to serve God's ends. Nothing, even now, is out of hand, that is, out of God's hands.