Is God So Good? Series

But we must be careful not to unscrew the unscrutable, to try to solve what is a mystery. Here are some basic THINGS THAT PAUL DOES NOT SAY in Romans 8:28-29. He does not say that ALL THINGS ARE GOOD. Child abuse and neglect, cancer, tragic accidents, adultery, divorce, greed, world hunger, war and a legion of other things are bad and will never be good in and of themselves. Paul does not say that EVERYTHING WILL TURN OUT GOOD. In this life many things do not turn out good. Nor does Paul say that ONLY GOOD THINGS WILL HAPPEN TO PEOPLE WHO TRUST THE LORD enough. Bad things do happen to good people. Nor does Paul say that EVERYTHING BELIEVERS EXPERIENCE IS GOD’S WILL FOR THEM. God never wills things that are the result of sin. As Pastor William Goulooze, who fought a valiant fight with cancer, wrote, “The balance sheet of life does not always seem to tally right. We are face to face with some impossible realities and we cannot add them up to profit and blessing. ..We just cannot figure things out according to the arithmetic of earth…We just cannot see rhyme or reason in our affliction.” It’s puzzling.

So what does Paul say? He offers A POSITIVE TEACHING. “In all things God works for the good …” The issue is not so much God’s role in making or allowing our circumstances, but what can God do with what happens? What good can God do with this situation? In response Paul states GOD IS GOOD. In John 9 Jesus and His disciples are approaching a man blind from birth and the disciples asked “"Teacher, why was this man born blind? Was it because he or his parents sinned?" "No, it wasn’t!" Jesus answered. "But because of his blindness, you will see God work a miracle for him.” (9:2-3 CEV) The cause, says Jesus, is not the issue. THE ISSUE IS WHAT GOD CAN AND WILL DO. When Abraham was pleading with God (Gen. 18: 25) to save the city of Sodom, he prayed “Will not the judge of all the earth do right?” God is good. When Joseph’s brothers finally faced Joseph they feared he would retaliate for their treachery and deceit against him and their father. But Joseph forgave and said (Gen. 50:20) “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.” God is good. Jesus was crucified, dead, and buried – but God raised Him from the dead. God is good.

Consider the medicines we take. Some of the ingredients, if taken by themselves, are poisonous and potentially deadly. But when mixed together properly with other ingredients they work for our good. So, God takes the ingredients of our lives, the things that happen, and over the haul of our lives, works them together for good. As one man said, God intermingles all things together for good. “In all things God works for the good …” God is good.

In fact, GOD HAS A GOOD GOAL. Verse 29: “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son…” God has set the goal for our lives. And what a goal it is! He has predetermined that WE WILL BE LIKE JESUS! Paul is not so much writing a theological dissertation here as he is explaining the goal of our lives and the purpose of God’s work in all things. God intermingles all things all for the good goal of transforming us into Christ-likeness. The goal of life is not to be happy, prosperous, famous, talented, well-liked, or successful; the goal of life is to be like Jesus. It’s a done deal – we will be like Jesus and we are already in process. God will use all that comes into our lives to further that goal. In His infinite wisdom He knows just what to do with all things that happen. That’s why Paul could write, (2 Cor. 3:18): “We are being transformed from one degree of glory to another into His likeness…” John wrote (1 Jn. 3:2) “…When He appears, we shall be like him…” I appreciate the way Edmond Hiebert puts it: “When believers understand and accept the Father’s loving purpose of developing Christlikeness in them as His beloved children, thus preparing them for that future day when the blessed Savior will come again to take them home, then they can rejoice and thank Him for all He is doing in them.” Spend time thanking God – He has a good goal for your life.