So the bible says that Christ is the only way to everlasting life andthere is no other name by which men can be saved (Acts 4:12). Now, I’ve heardsome sceptics say that the God of the bible must then be unkind and extremely unfair,to judge everyone based on their acceptance of Christ, without caring thatthere were some who lived before Christ came to the world.

Frankly, I have thought of this many times myself. I have wondered aboutthe fate of people who lived before Christ was born; People who never heardabout Christ in their lifetimes, and so could never have received Him. Whatbecomes of them? Are they all condemned to hell automatically?

Rom 1: 19-20, lets us know that through theearth, the sky and indeed, all of creation, God has surrounded us with evidenceof Himself and so, no one can give an excuse for not knowing God. He has provedHis existence to mankind, such that just by observing the intricacies of God’s creation,even the earliest of men, would have known that there is a God behind it all. Rom1: 18, however, also lets us know that even in the midst of this evidenceprovided by God, some choose to suppress and ignore this truth about God,thereby rejecting it.

Now we may askquestions about the fate of people who lived before Christ wasborn, whereas, the reality is that Christ was right there from the beginning oftime. What do I mean? The bible says in the beginning was the word and the wordwas with God and the word was God. (John 1:1). And just in case you’re still wonderingwho the word is, John 1:14 tells us that the word who was with God in thebeginning, became flesh and dwelt among us. This means that Jesus was there inthe beginning, thousands of years before He was born on earth, and beforeanyone on earth ever existed. And since Jesus is God, any ancient man or womanwho received a revelation of the existence of the one true God by faith, anddid not suppress or ignore the truth they had received about God, were saved.

Abel andNoah, some of the bible’s earliest humans, are good examples of this. They livedthousands of years before Christ came and never knew him physically, but Hebrews11:4-7 describes them as people of righteousness and faith, because theyrecognised that there was a creator and worshipped the one true God.

Christ may have showed up on earth only 2000 years ago, but in reality, Hehas been there since the beginning of time, slain before the foundations of theworld! (Rev 13:8). He died for all sins, not just for us today, but once forall time, to take away the sins of many (Heb 9:28), and through Him, those evenin ancient times, who put their faith in God, were saved by Him. God thoughtthis through and sorted it out; put things in place, way ahead of time, and thefact that He is a thoughtful, just, deliberate and intentional God, can neverever be overemphasized.

I pray today, O Lord, that You will help us to believe Your word overthe pronouncements of critics. Help us to see more clearly, not only that Jesusis the only way to eternal life, but that Jesus has been here all along. Helpus to see not just that You are a master planner, but that You are perfectlykind and just, and help us never to take this for granted, in Jesus name, Amen.