7/28/21
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the historic one-year lectionary.
There's so much to focus on in Romans chapter 8, we could never exhaust it all. I want to focus on just one little portion today. It's easily overlooked. All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose.
Do all things work together for good? Not necessarily. For people who don't love God and who aren't living according to his purpose, they might not work for good. They might just work for evil!
Before anyone despairs, saying, "I thought I loved God but bad things have been happening in my life so maybe I don't actually love God!" let me point out that if you are concerned in this way, if you care what God may be saying to you or doing in your life, it is evidence that you do love God. We live in a sin-cursed world and we don't always see the way things work together for good.
What is God's purpose in this? It is in verse 29. He is busy conforming his people to his image. What does this mean? It means that Jesus, the one who loved us and who lived a life of perfect holiness, trusting God the Father in all things, is making us into people who are also in perfect fellowship with God. He wants to be "the firstborn among many brothers." This means he plans to raise you and me from the dead in the last day, made into the image of God, raised in his perfect righteousness.
At that time, not only will all things be working together for good for us, but we'll see them in action. His purpose will be finally accomplished.
In the meantime, we take courage from this passage. Can anything separate us from God's love in Christ? Nothing at all. He is working in us and in many others by his love to build us into the people he would have us be in eternity. It will all work.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the historic one-year lectionary.
There's so much to focus on in Romans chapter 8, we could never exhaust it all. I want to focus on just one little portion today. It's easily overlooked. All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose.
Do all things work together for good? Not necessarily. For people who don't love God and who aren't living according to his purpose, they might not work for good. They might just work for evil!
Before anyone despairs, saying, "I thought I loved God but bad things have been happening in my life so maybe I don't actually love God!" let me point out that if you are concerned in this way, if you care what God may be saying to you or doing in your life, it is evidence that you do love God. We live in a sin-cursed world and we don't always see the way things work together for good.
What is God's purpose in this? It is in verse 29. He is busy conforming his people to his image. What does this mean? It means that Jesus, the one who loved us and who lived a life of perfect holiness, trusting God the Father in all things, is making us into people who are also in perfect fellowship with God. He wants to be "the firstborn among many brothers." This means he plans to raise you and me from the dead in the last day, made into the image of God, raised in his perfect righteousness.
At that time, not only will all things be working together for good for us, but we'll see them in action. His purpose will be finally accomplished.
In the meantime, we take courage from this passage. Can anything separate us from God's love in Christ? Nothing at all. He is working in us and in many others by his love to build us into the people he would have us be in eternity. It will all work.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
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