Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?

So, why do bad things happen to good people?  What if I told you they don't?  In reality there are no righteous people (Romans 3:10).  All have sinned (Romans 3:23) and rebelled against God.  We tend to view ourselves as good, deserving God's favor and blessing.  We actually deserve God's judgment and we deserve to go to hell.  In reality people do not deserve anything good.  We should ask why good things happen to bad people.  It is only because of God's grace that much good takes place in our world.  Bad things happen to sinful people, that includes all of us.  We have no claim on God, we deserve nothing good from him. 

But what about evil?  It actually exists inside of us all.  We do not like to admit this, we would rather think of it as something outside of ourselves.  
Originally the world was created good but man chose to sin against God.  As a result  humanity and the world became fallen and under the sin curse. 

But where does evil come from?  There is the existence of the devil and demons (this is not popular to say in the western world).  The devil is called the evil one.  The devil and demons are actually fallen angels.  The devil tempts people to do evil but forces no one to do evil.  The devil is not equal with God though, God is sovereign over all things.  As Martin Luther said, "he's God's devil".  

We are still left with the question of why evil exists in the first place?  We know that God is not the author of evil and sin.  Humans are not able to fully understand the things of God.  Finite humans can't fully grasp the infinite God.  The best explanation for the existence of evil is that in some way it glorifies God.  It magnifies his justice and goodness.  The ultimate purpose of all things is to bring glory to God. 

Evil has been taken care of by Christ and his work on the cross.  Jesus lived a perfect life, died on the cross to pay for the sins of his people, and was raised from the dead (proof that he is God).  He was victorious over death, sin, and evil.  All who repent of their sins and place their faith in Christ will be saved from their sins.  Jesus will eliminate evil from the world.  The devil and all who followed him (that includes all who rejected Christ) will be thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20).  There will be a new heaven and new earth where everything will be perfect.  There will be no evil or bad things happening there.  This is where all believers in Christ will spend eternity.