And we know that in all things God works for the good
of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to
be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many
brothers and sisters. And
those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those
he justified, he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30)
All things are good? No. All things
produce good for those who love God. All things work out for good for those who
are called according to His purpose. To understand what Paul said, we need to
understand what Paul meant by “good.” A good screwdriver drives screws. A good
book communicates what it is meant to in a way that people understand and
appreciate. A good person is someone who does the things that people are meant
to do with a positive attitude. Good things do what they are designed to do. What
is that?
Good things cause us to be conformed to the image of His Son. That means the worst of things can be good things. The crucifixion was a horrific thing, but it was used by Jesus to save us. It revealed the depth of His love for us and the depth of His love for the Father. Terrible things may happen to us. We aren’t to pretend that they aren’t as terrible as they are. God doesn’t ask us to spend our lives in denial of reality, but neither does He ask us to spend our lives in denial of reality. Yes, the bad things are bad, tragic, horrible, difficult, etc., but the result of those bad things in our lives can be very good: increased wisdom, greater empathy, stronger love, opportunities that we might not have had or of which we could not have taken advantage, deeper faith, more powerful convictions, etc.
As I think about bad things, the biggest, worst bad thing that I’ve faced was my mother’s death. I have known for a long time that it revealed to me a strength in myself that I could not have imagined. As I look at where I am today, I realize that if my mother were still alive, or if Dad had died before her, my life would be very different. I can’t know all of the differences, but if Mom were alive, either with Dad or if Dad had died instead, I would still be in Erie because either Mom would be taking care of Dad, or Mom would not travel for the winter. Mission: Faithwalk would likely not exist, because I would not have been called to physically leave the place that I knew and travel to the place to which God called me. Could I have learned what I have learned about faith any other way? Perhaps, but having to walk away from my life has given me a life I don’t think I could have had otherwise.
Good things cause us to be conformed to the image of His Son. That means the worst of things can be good things. The crucifixion was a horrific thing, but it was used by Jesus to save us. It revealed the depth of His love for us and the depth of His love for the Father. Terrible things may happen to us. We aren’t to pretend that they aren’t as terrible as they are. God doesn’t ask us to spend our lives in denial of reality, but neither does He ask us to spend our lives in denial of reality. Yes, the bad things are bad, tragic, horrible, difficult, etc., but the result of those bad things in our lives can be very good: increased wisdom, greater empathy, stronger love, opportunities that we might not have had or of which we could not have taken advantage, deeper faith, more powerful convictions, etc.
As I think about bad things, the biggest, worst bad thing that I’ve faced was my mother’s death. I have known for a long time that it revealed to me a strength in myself that I could not have imagined. As I look at where I am today, I realize that if my mother were still alive, or if Dad had died before her, my life would be very different. I can’t know all of the differences, but if Mom were alive, either with Dad or if Dad had died instead, I would still be in Erie because either Mom would be taking care of Dad, or Mom would not travel for the winter. Mission: Faithwalk would likely not exist, because I would not have been called to physically leave the place that I knew and travel to the place to which God called me. Could I have learned what I have learned about faith any other way? Perhaps, but having to walk away from my life has given me a life I don’t think I could have had otherwise.
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