It is a mistake to think that God has just been aimlessly standing off to the side, watching our world be plunged ever deeper into the horrors of our self-created hell. Quite the contrary. In fact, even though our first parents chose to use their free will to rebel against God's good rule, our merciful and loving God immediately went into action to absolutely minimize the damage we have done to ourselves.
The first thing our Good God did was to put a flaming sword between sinners and the Tree of Life. That single act alone prevented us from becoming eternal sinners, forced to live out the dreadful consequences of never-ending sin. In fact, this flaming sword is a very powerful argument that indeed, there is NOT going to be an eternal burning hell where punished sinners are forced to burn forever and ever. God in His great mercy sent that sword so NO ONE would ever become an eternal sinner!
The second thing our Good God did was immediately institute a plan of redemption that gave the human race a second chance. Through the substitutionary death of Jesus on our behalf, we can now enjoy an eternity in Heaven rather than an eternity of death.
The third thing our Good God did was shorten our sin-ravaged life spans. Adam and his descendants originally lived to be around 900 years old, but since then, God cut that down to 120 years and then to 70 years. For those of us who have chosen God to be our King and our Lord, this is actually a great blessing, because after we die we have a perfect Heaven waiting for us, and a shortened lifespan simply means we have fewer days to spend on this anguished, sin-scarred world.
The fourth thing our Good God did was give us the gift of sleep, which cuts by one-third the amount of conscious time we have to be aware of the damages and sufferings that are in our lives.
The many other things our Good God did was to give us skills, gifts, abilities, talents, medicines, cures, resources and technologies, all designed to help us be as comfortable as possible during this brief period of pain that we human beings must now pass through. If God had never stepped into our rebellious mess, things would be a whole lot worse!
