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.What a great promise! We love it. For those of us who love God, it is a marvelous promise, a certainty upon which we can rest. But ... what about the rest?
I've often told fellow believers "God works all things together for good" and stopped right there. More often than not they feel the need to correct me. "Well, for those who love God." I have to disagree. I have argued in the past and continue to hold that God is good and that God is Sovereign. The only possible conclusion is that God works all things together for good -- all things. This isn't a reference to the promise of Romans 8:28. It's simply a statement of fact.
This, then, begs two questions. First, in what sense does God work all things together for good, and what is this promise saying that is different? I think that answering these might bring a little more light to the topic.
We have seen that God is good. We know that He is Sovereign. The only possible conclusion is that all that happens, then, is good. We see the logic. It is true, then, that God works all things together for good. The mistake occurs when we conclude that this good is our good. That's our standard mistake, isn't it? "It's all about us." No, it's not. In fact, the complaint of the skeptic typically starts with ... us. God is not doing right by us. If we suffer, then God is bad. But God's perspective starts always and rightly with Himself. He is, after all, the Center of the Universe. It really is all about Him. It really is not all about us. So when I say that God works all things together for good, I mean for His good. Sometimes His good is good for us, and sometimes it may not seem so, but the good that He works all things together for is not necessarily ours; it is His. Now we come to this promise. The difference, you see, is not in the good, but to whom it is good. If all that happens is for God's good and we love God, then all that happens will be good to us. Perhaps if I reword that you'll see it. We know that, to those who love God, God causes all things to work together for good.
If you love someone, when good happens to them it is good to you. When your child does well in school it makes you feel good because it makes them feel good. When you love, you want the best for the one you love. That's the most basic definition of love. So when we love God and God causes all things to work together for good, it is good to us. That's the promise.
Of course, you and I are imperfect. Sometimes we don't see how it is working together for good. Sometimes we are more concerned about (more "in love with") ourselves than God. At times like those we may not see the good. We still see through a glass darkly. But in the end we can be certain that, to those who love God, all that happens will be woven together for God's good. In so doing, it will be our good as well. That's a great place to be.
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