Whose Good?

and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.  Romans 8:28  (NIV)

Of Those Who Love Him – Have you ever wondered how this verse can be true in a world that is so obviously filled with evil?  Does it ever bother you that there are innumerable examples of believers who endure terrible hardships, and non-believers whose lives are fairly easy?  How can Paul make the preposterous claim that all things work for the good of the followers of God when that is so clearly not the case in this life?

If we want to understand what Paul means, and avoid the trap of thinking that the Christian life is supposed to be wonderful, joyful and successful, then we need to take apart this Greek verse one step at a time.  The first thing that we notice (in Greek) is that this phrase is not at the end of the sentence.  It is at the beginning, in the place of emphasis.  The Greek literally reads, “we know – and – that the ones loving God” (tois agaposi ton Theon) all things work together into good”.   We must work from here.

First, it should be obvious that the active agent here is God.  Things just don’t work themselves out for good.  In fact, left to the natural order, things tend toward moral and physical entropy.  They get worse, not better.  Second, Paul cannot have in mind an imminent temporal good since all human experience confirms that following Jesus does not result in perfect lives.  Furthermore, Paul is clearly not speaking to all humanity.  He focuses only on followers.  With that in mind, we can see that is it not necessarily our immediate good that Paul proclaims (Sorry, but Christianity is not about your best life now).  Paul announces that no matter what happens to those who love God, God’s final plan and ultimate outcome will be for “the good”.  Paul never explains exactly what he means by “the good,” but what we know from this entire chapter is that God is working through us and with us to accomplish His ultimate purpose, and that is the epitome of what is good.  Of course, as His children, we will also enjoy this ultimate good, but that is absolutely no guarantee that all the things that happen to us are going to be for our good now.

Does this seem just too pessimistic?  Well, it would, if your life were nothing more than the few years you have here.  But that’s the beauty of God’s good.  It isn’t just about what happens here.  In fact, your life is merely the dress rehearsal for all that is going to happen after here.  Yes, sometimes we get a little down payment of God’s good – and amazing, benevolent events occur here.  But never think that this is all that there is.  Paul tells us we can’t even imagine what God has in store.  His final good is off the charts.

So, take encouragement.  All things are working toward the good – the good that God has in mind for us, and for all redeemed creation.  All these things will be for our good – and, if you have the perseverance to wait for them, you will discover that all along the way, God is letting you practice so that you can play a wonderful part in the real performance to come.