All Things for Good

This is one of the most famous and misunderstood passages in the Bible. It's way better than it sounds.

 

It's not that all things are good. It's that big things, small things, good things, bad things, holy things, sinful things, sad things, funny things and everything in between work together for good for Christians. But what is good?

 

Here good cannot mean circumstantial good. It cannot mean that God is orchestrating everything to make you comfortable, popular, rich, well clothed, and safe. The context of Romans is too big for Paul to suddenly pull back and refer to such small things. Besides, in just a few verses he makes it clear that we will very likely experience tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger and sword (8:35). No, Paul is talking about something better than circumstantial good. He's talking about conformation to the image of Jesus.

 

Read the verses again if you don't believe me. He explains that God is working hard for our good and then immediately explains that his hard work has everything to do with our being conformed to the image of his Son.

 

Why is this good for you? Because it means you're engaged with God and God's purpose, which is what you're designed for.

 

Not everyone will receive this promise. Only those who 1) love God, and 2) are called according to his purpose (8:28).

 

There are three types of people reading this:

1. Those who are all about their own purposes and God doesn't factor in at all.

2. Those who are all about their own purposes and who genuinely want to include God in them.

3. Those who are called according to God's purpose.

 

I bet most reading this fall into category two, regularly asking the question, "How can I incorporate God more into my life?" But the Christian question is, "How will God incorporate my life into his purpose?" It isn't God into our relationships but our relationships into God's purpose. Not God into my schedule but my schedule into God's purpose. Not God into my work but my work into God's purpose. And what is God's purpose? Gathering many sons (8:29). In other words, the discipleship of many people from many people groups.

 

First and foremost, consider Jesus and make a decision. If he your savior and Lord or is he a nobody?

 

If he is your savior and Lord, think of the worst thing in your life. A relationship, a task, a burden, an emotional issue, a decision, a challenge, whatever it may be. Let it go. Let it go into God's hands and instead of dwelling on it, turn your energy toward loving God and pursuing his purpose of making disciples.

 

Do this by spending time in the word, by praying, by singing praises to him, and by investing in people, encouraging them toward God through Jesus. Talk with people about Jesus. Ask people what they think about him. Pray for them. Meanwhile, trust that God will work the bad things in your life together along with everything else for your good, making you look more like Jesus.

 

This was Jesus' advice to the anxious in Matthew 6. Don't worry about what you'll wear or eat. Don't worry about your life at all. Instead, seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you.

 

Yes, there will be pain, but as Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, To renounce a full life and its real joys in order to avoid pain is neither Christian nor human.

 

1.       Describe a time in your life when something that seemed to be bad ended up working out for good.

2.       Read verse 28. Why trust this promise? (See v.26, 27 and 32)

3.       What is the good to which Paul is referring? (See v.29)

a.        What other ways do people define good?

b.       How is God’s definition of good different from the world’s?

4.       Who can expect to receive this promise? (see v.28) Who then should not expect to receive it?

5.       What is his purpose? (see v.29-30 and Matthew 28:16-20)

a.        How might God use your life for his purpose?

b.       How might God use your relationships for his purpose?

c.        How might God use your vocation for his purpose?

d.       How might God use your resources for his purpose?

6.       What purposes of your own do you need to abandon to heed the call of God’s purpose? (See Matthew 6:25-34 and 16:24-26)

7.       How can we serve one another in light of this passage?

8.       How can your group pray for you this week?