“Between the Lines: Is God So Good?”
Romans 8:28-29
Okay. Sing with me: “God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, He’s so good to me.” So simple to sing – yet so often difficult to believe. Can the father in the drama truthfully sing it?
Now let’s do a responsive chant. I’ll say “God is good” and you answer “All the time.” Ready? “God is good – all the time!” Sounds so true – yet so often not in sync with our experience. What about the parents of a teenager who just broke his neck and is now a quadriplegic – can they chant this?
Is God so good? Is God so good to me – to you? All the time?
Paul presents a very PUZZLING TRUTH. The truth is stated in verse 28: “In all things God works…” A root conviction of the Biblical faith is the TRUTH that GOD WORKS. It sets Yahweh God above all other gods because it states that God still works actively in the world he created. Our God is a God who acts.
This is one of the main thrusts of God’s dialogue with Moses at the burning bush. God kept telling Moses that He had arranged everything that had happened and would arrange everything that is about to happen. Far from abandoning Israel, God had been preparing them for the future; He had been at work. God works.
As a result Israel had always believed that there were no chance happenings, no random events. If things went well or they won a battle, they knew they had God’s favor. If things did not go well or they lost a battle, they knew they did not have God’s favor. God works.
Remember Job’s story? Satan had to ask permission to afflict Job; God was active in Job’s life and world. Since Job believed this his question was not “Where’s God?” but rather “How is God involved in all this? What is God doing in all this?” God works.
And then there’s the prophet Isaiah through whom God spoke (45:5-7 GNB): “I am the Lord; there is no other god. I will give you the strength you need, although you do not know me. I do this so that everyone from one end of the world to the other may know that I am the Lord and that there is no other god. I create both light and darkness; I bring both blessing and disaster. I, the Lord, do all these things.” God works.
Jesus reiterated the message. He told people He had come from God the Father and that if they could not accept what He said they should look at what He did. He claimed God was at work through Him. He told Peter that Satan demanded to sift the disciples like wheat, but that Jesus praying for them. And after Pentecost the apostles kept preaching that God was at work through all of Jesus’ life, suffering, and death and that it was God who raised Jesus from the dead. God works.
What is it we claim in our Heidelberg Catechism? God “…watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven: in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him…he still upholds, as it were by his own hand, heaven and earth together with all creatures, and rules in such a way that leaves and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and unfruitful years, food and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, and everything else, come to us not by chance but by his fatherly hand.” God works.
Listen again to Paul: “In all things God works…” This TRUTH IS PUZZLING: GOD WORKS IN ALL THINGS. An airplane crashes. One man shares that he was supposed to be on the plane but was delayed – he’s convinced that God saved him and it’s a miracle. Meanwhile the husband of a woman who was killed wonders, “How could God let this happen?” Are both right? If one woman claims God was with her in that she left a building just before it collapsed does it mean that He wasn’t with the others and willed all those in the building to die? A high school boy makes a game winning shot and shortly thereafter falls dead. Does God work in all things? If so, is God so good? All the time? Does God cause all things to happen? If so, how can we say He’s good? Or does God allow all things to happen? If so, does that mean He’s neutral and whatever will be, will be? Most of us, if we’re honest, will admit that we are puzzled; our lives and experiences lead us to wonder just how it is that God works in all things.
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.
But notice that Paul’s words are also A PROBING TEST. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” THE PROMISE IS SELECTIVE. The promise is not for everyone; it’s for those “…who love him.” Is the promise for you? It’s not so much how God fits into your life as it is how much you fit in with His. Are you fitting in? Ask yourself, “DO I LOVE GOD?” It’s easy to say yes – but how can you know for sure? Jesus told us in John 14:21 (CEV). “If you love me, you will do what I have said, and my Father will love you. I will also love you and show you what I am like.” It’s not a matter of being perfect; it’s a matter surrendering your life to Jesus at every turn and opportunity, of desiring to do his will, of hungering to know more about Him and desiring to know Him more intimately. It’s a matter of putting as much energy into developing your relationship with Him as you do into other facets of your life. Does this describe you? Do you love God?
THE PROMISE ALSO CAUSES SEARCHING. Verse 31: “What then shall we say in response to this?” How will you respond to the fact that God is good, that in all things He works for good, and that He has predetermined the goal for your life is to be like Jesus? Ask yourself, “WILL I TRUST GOD?” You are free to question God, even rail at God. The Psalmist did many times. The prophet Jeremiah did – read Lamentations. Job did. But as events happen in your life, as things happen to you, will you expect evil or good? As Tim Keller wrote, “Jesus Christ did not suffer so that you would not suffer. He suffered so that when you suffer, you’ll become like him. The gospel does not promise you better life circumstances; it promises you a better life.” Remember that God is acquainted with evil and suffering. If the resurrection shows what God can do with evil and suffering, what do you think He can do for you?
We will certainly survive the puzzling storms and fires of this life. As Isaiah prophesied (43:1-5 MSG): “But now, God’s Message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob, the One who got you started, Israel: "Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your name. You’re mine. When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end—Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in! That’s how much you mean to me! That’s how much I love you! I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you. "So don’t be afraid: I’m with you.”
God loves you; He sent Jesus to die for you. God is good; Jesus paid the price for you. God loves you and is good, all the time. As Paul wrote (Rom. 8:32 CEV) – “God did not keep back his own Son, but he gave him for us. If God did this, won’t he freely give us everything else?” God is actively involved in your life – and He never touches anything and leaves it the same, just as no one touched by Jesus ever remained the same. Do you want to be like Jesus? You may not know what God is doing in your life right now – but this morning will you trust Him enough to love Him by surrendering to Him again? Will you believe that God is good, that in all things He works for good, all the time – that He intermingles everything together in a good way? Will you trust Him with the pieces of your life? Can you go forth singing “God is so good to me?”
Judith Keefe has expressed it well.
“He don’t bring garbage, But He don’t waste it neither.
Why DO he allow such junk? I don’t know either.
But I’ve seen Him take A trial so deep,
A burden so heavy, A mountain so steep –
And weave with His loom A tapestry rare
With good stuff and garbage Mixed together in there –
‘Til you can’t see the bad Away from the good;
You can’t tell the gold Apart from the wood.
He uses it all; He redeems each part;
He don’t waste nothing!…’cause He’s building a heart.”
No matter what happens from this moment on, may you let God build your heart.
