Edward A. Murphy, an American aerospace engineer, immortalized the phrase “If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong.” Today we live on “Murphy’s planet.” All kinds of bad things are happening: a virus is raging against humanity; war is threatening global security; an island of garbage as large as Alaska is drifting in the ocean; hunger is increasing as well as drug and human trafficking. We have reasons to despair.

But there are also reasons to be optimistic. Good exists. And evil cannot defeat it.

Of course, if we are going to be optimistic, we should not anchor our faith in the “infinite” human capacity to overcome every adversity, because humanity is overwhelmed by problems. Only God can take us out of this moral dump and cure the problems caused by senseless human actions.

Jesus said, “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28). He promised that He will come in glory: “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And . . . they [will] see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30).

When Jesus fulfills His promise, all who have loved Him will be transported to our heavenly homeland: “They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads” (Revelation 22:4). Then “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4). There will be no more Murphy’s law because we will live under Christ’s law.