“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”
(Rom 8:28, NASB).
What a beautiful passage of
scripture, capable of filling our hearts with the greatest of joys, and grant
us the hope we need to make it through the day. This fact of scripture is
anchored to the very character of God. It shows His sovereignty, Wisdom, and
the compassion He has for His elect. It proves that our world is not a giant
mess of disconnected coincidence, but everything, literally everything, is
directed by the hand of God for the good of his children.
There is no force outside of God
that is directing all things, for the verse says, “God causes all things to
work”. There is no devil in hell strong enough to direct the forces of the
world to an opposite end, or a devil wise enough to trick God into making some
sort of mistake. God, who’s work is perfect (Deut. 32:4), is the one directing
the events of the universe. It is not fate, it is not luck, it is not some
unknown force of unlimited power and without consciousness that directs the
path of humanity. Kings, princess, and
demons move things where they wish, but they are pawns in the hand of God who
will direct even their schemes to His desired end.
The verse continues adding,
“together for good”. God is causing all things to work towards good. This is a
big difference between this and the idea that all things are good because God
is using them. That is an interpretation of the text must be avoided. God never
calls sin good. God always condemns the wicked for their wickedness, and
promises to exact justice on all evildoers. God does not leave us room to say
the evil and vile acts of this world are something good rather the verse
specifies that all things will work together for a certain end, that end being
good. It does not make the mistake of the communists and say that the end
justifies the means. No, our God is much too pure for something such as that.
It was sin that placed our Savior unjustly upon the cross as men murdered Him,
but it was God who directs even such an event as that to a desired end. It is
not good that Nazi Germany killed six million Jews. It is not good that governments torture His
church. It is not good that Satan steals, kills, and destroys. It is not good
that child molesters molest, and it is not good that rapists rape. God is not
declared as justifying these activities, it is not said that these things are
good because God is going to bring them to a good end, but only that they will
work together for good.
Indeed, God will bring all things
together for good. He will somehow cause all the evil and all the good things
together for His desired end. I am not sure of how such a deed will be done or
how a task can be accomplished, but I know that my God can. Many things are
absolutely horrible and on their own of no value, and many things that are good
have no power to overcome the atrocities of sin. Perhaps if everything was
separate strands, disconnected from everything else, maybe they could not be
used for any good, but God in his wisdom will tie all these separate strands
together to produce good.
The text says that this good is for
the benefit of the Christian. There is no other being in creation that can love
God, and be called according to his purposes. Because this good is directed
from God towards his bride, it ought to bring us great joy. We learn from it
that our current troubles, as troubling as they maybe, have a place in the plan
of God for our lives. He will take all of our suffering and all of our
accomplishments and use them for our good in the end. He will grab hold of the
wars of the past and the future, of the storms twelve hundred miles away and
direct them for our benefit.
The promise of this verse has not
reached is fulfillment. Indeed, God takes hold of everything in our lives and
we see him work a great deal of things out for our benefit at a later date, but
nonetheless this work of God is not yet finished. Its object is not only the
saints that are present, but those that are past and future. The verse applies
to all those who love him and are called according to his purpose. It applies
to Abraham, You, and our dear elected brothers who we are still waiting to see
become a member of the visible church. As all Christians should know our God is
the God of the living, and our brothers who have passed from this world to the
next still love our God day and night. All the events that have succeeded them
are still being brought into the hand of God and worked into the mosaic of
God’s desired end that is for our good.
However, that end has not yet come.
There is still all of future history which God will also bring together with
everything that has preceded it, even the thousands of pieces of gum that are
stuck underneath tables ever year (yes this seems ridiculous, but the text says
all, and none of the surrounding text specifies that “all” to a smaller group
that that which encompasses everything, so even this is included). But the time
will come when all things are completed, the iniquity of the world is complete,
all the elect have been called to salvation and the reprobate are shown by the
hardness of their heart, then everything will be brought together “for good for
those who love God and are called according to His purpose.”
So rejoice dear brothers and sisters in Christ! All of our hardship and suffering is not some out of control force working against the church of God that may possibly win out and destroy us! No every enemy of ours, including our own flesh is bound by the will of God to eventually be used for our good. Yes it sucks now, but continue on in the hope of that promise. Our God is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, and so he will come quickly. He will not wait a moment longer, nor move a moment sooner than when everything is fulfilled. And when he does, we shall rejoice in heaven in merriment and love before the throne of the highest King!
