Posted by Pastor Tim email me at ( - my user name - )@believersbay.com
on October 28, 2009, 9:55 am
(Romans 8:28 NIV) 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.
(Romans 8:28 NASB) And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
(Romans 8:28 KJV) And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
I've shared three different versions to help in studying what this verse is actually saying.
Christians often read this verse and come away with the idea that it's saying that everything that happens to us is within the will of God.
What this verse is actually saying is that is that God uses all our situations to bring about good things...not that all things are good.
Evil things happen in the world. David was anointed King of Israel and yet Saul sought to kill him. David learned to be submissive, loyal, patient, and probably a host of other good lessons. Yet, I doubt it was God's will that Saul kill David.
In the same way, if all the evil things that happen to Christians are part of God's will then we would have to surmise that God is evil. If it's God's will that murder, rape, and other such evils occur he becomes an accessory to that evil.
Instead, God has given all of us the freedom to choose. Some have coined the phrase free will to describe that freedom. It's inevitable that free will infringes upon the free will of others when that free will isn't freely submitted to God's will.
That's why we have verses telling us that love covers a multitude of sins. That's why grace needs to not only be the state of Christians but the practiced lifestyle of Christians.
God's part as described in the verse above is to take everything in our lives, the good things as well as the bad ones, and to carefully weave them together so that the end product is a positive result. Just as the wheat and the tares grow together, so good and bad are intertwined in our lives.
One without the other would be meaningless. Without the struggle against problems we'd never grow. Without the victory of goodness we'd never have hope. The conductor of our life symphony calls upon each section of the orchestra as needed and deals with the sour notes as professionally as possible.
I don't believe every situation in our life is meant to be good, nor do I believe every situation is a part of God's will. I do believe he's more than capable of turning the lemons of our life into lemonade or even lemon meringue pie! yum
Sharing the Love of God with Common Sense
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