Romans 8

 We've been working through Romans 8 for the last couple of months, and are close to the end.   Where we find v. 28, one of the more popular verses in The Bible.

"²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[i] have been called according to his purpose."

 

There is plenty to dig into with this verse, but I want to focus on two things for now.  

 

1.  Paul (who knew a think or two about suffering) is very clear that YHWH will use "all" things as He works for the good.  Not some things, not the things that we might think are good, but specifically ALL things.  

2.  "The good", in this case is whatever is "according to His purpose".

 

Shouldn't this verse change the way we look at our circumstances, how we pray, and what we thank YHWH for?   

 In the following 2 verses we see this. 

" ²⁹ 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. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified."

 Obviously people have spent decades defining what these words mean, and there is some valuable theology to be gleaned from that work.  

But I want to try to simplify it for the present.  What Paul seems to be saying is that YHWH has a plan for "those who love Him", that plan was in place before we were born, and the ultimate goal of the plan is to glorify us in His image.   

What was pointed out the other day is that Paul uses the past tense in these verses to indicate that the work that facilitates all of this has already been finished, even as we experience the reality of living in the now and the not yet.  Again, wouldn't knowing this change how we view our circumstances?

When I think of this verse, I immediately picture my wife's ex "boss".  Joni Erickson Tada embodies what this verse means every single day of her life.  She could easily have given up after her accident, and simply waited for death.  Instead she realized that all things work together for the good, and chose a different path.  Today, Joni and Friends has helped literally millions of people with disabilities all over the world.   They've folded a form of prison ministry into their model.   Because of her tragic accident, millions of lives are changed daily in both temporal and spiritual ways.  

Maybe we get too focused on how difficult our lives are and how upset we get a YHWH because HE promised that He'd make our lives better.  

FYI, Romans 8:28 and following really does contain some profound theological insights, and Truth.   But that doesn't mean that it''s helpful to quote it to a family who's just lost a loved one, or someone who's just lost their job.   I'm thinking that it's probably more important to focus on providing love and support, not deep theological discussion.