That’s the best answer I’ve ever heard to the question of why bad things happen to good people. Honestly, none of us are good people. We are fallen people living in a fallen world. It’s not a pleasant or popular truth, but it’s true.

None of us are good enough to save ourselves. None of us are good enough to please God on our own. None of us — including me — deserve anything other than hell.

If we’re honest, we want a lot of what’s not good for us. We think a lot of thoughts that don’t qualify as good. We don’t have to be taught as little children how to be selfish and vengeful and bad. We’re born with a bent toward sin from the very beginning.

But Jesus took all the bad we deserved upon Himself. He actually volunteered to take our place. He took all the wrath of God that we deserved on that cross at Calvary and gave us the goodness that we could never hope to have left to ourselves.

It’s interesting that when the rich young ruler called Him Good Teacher, Jesus response was, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God.” In essence, Jesus was disqualifying Himself from merely being a good moral example and teacher. Either He’s God in the flesh or He’s not good.

And as it turns out, He’s our only hope.