¶And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
A non-Christian friend of mine, Brian has an irritating habit of saying, "It's all good!" No matter what the circumstance. Finally, I had enough: "What do you mean, 'It's all good?!' It's not all good. Do you think the people in Haiti think the earthquake was good? You've got it all wrong." Brian answered: "Hey Bro, I didn't mean to upset you. You're the one who's a Christian. Don't you believe God is good?" Brian's question is a good one and it's been asked for hundreds of years with a few variations: "How can a good and loving God create a world where natural disasters kill so many people? Can the world be spinning out of God's control until some future event? Maybe He doesn't care anymore? If God created everything, and there's evil in the world, then did God create evil? Does that mean God is evil? Or maybe God doesn't even exist." Christians ask questions as well, not just skeptics or atheists. For example: "How could God allow something like the Holocaust to happen? Why didn't He stop the terrorists on 9/11 since it was in his power to do so? And more personal questions like: "Why did my marriage fail? Why did my father abuse me? Why did I get cancer? Why did my child die? What is wrong with the world, and why is there evil in it?" Many Christians answer these questions with today's passage: "...in all things God works for the good of those who love him..." So if God works in all things for the good of those who love Him, then is everything that happens good? Do we agree with Brian: "It's all good"? I certainly don't think so. Do you? I watched a medical program the other night on cable; a baby was born without a face. I wonder if her parents thought it was good. Tens of thousands of people died in the Haitian earthquake; many more thousands were injured, left homeless, hungry, etc. I wonder if any of those people thought the earthquake was good. Trust me, what happens on this earth is not "all good"! But let me tell you what was good: the doctor's response to the faceless child's birth; the love of her brother and sister who accepted her unconditionally (regardless of her physical appearance). And the reaction of the world community to the tragedy and great need in Haiti. Now that was all good! Sin has infected and infested the world. The result is both the tragic deformity of a newborn baby, and the earth's decay expressed through earthquakes, floods, and the like. It's not all good, but intuitively we know all things work together for good. Paul didn't say, "I want you to know" or "I'm going to teach you". Rather he said, "We know that in all things..." In other words, by the Spirit we know innately, and by experience, we've seen previously, how God has worked everything out for good. Therefore, we can keep trusting Him to continue working for our good and His glory. It's not all good, but He is good!
Our passage today does not tell us that everything that happens to us is good. It does say, no matter what the situation, whether bad or good, it will work together for good if we love God. God is working out His purposes within us.
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