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. Romans8:28
We quote Rom.8:28 often:
- sometimes as defiant hope in the face of troublesome times
- sometimes as a celebration when we experience Providence in trouble
But let's reflect on a few of the phrases...
"We know": How do we know? We know because God tells us so in His Word. We know because we have experienced it. And we know because sometimes the Holy Spirit whispers it into our souls and we are able to be brave and hopeful when people see no reason for it.
"in ALL things": This is a mind-boggler. We struggle to see the good that comes out of natural disasters, war, violence and heartache. But Paul is convinced that even though God is not the author of evil or pain, He is able to transform it because He is Sovereign. He will have the final say.
"God works": The Greek word implies "God works alongside". What an amazing thought! Even when I do something incredibly stupid, God will come alongside and actively work for good.
"For the good": The Greek word used here covers the spectrum of "good" from pleasant or fitting all the way to moral and righteous. The good that comes from evil never justifies evil - it simply defeats it.
What an incredible thought! What if we stopped bemoaning the presence of evil and actively sought to overcome it with good? If the customer in front of you is rude to the person at the till how about putting in an extra effort to be kind and friendly? (Not to gossip about their rudeness, but to overcome evil with good!)
(We'll carry on with this verse tomorrow!)
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
