Last Sunday, after church, the kids mime ministry team left immediately to give a presentation at Future Church of Tomorrow on 12th Street. As we left, the adults counted all the noses to make sure we had everybody and we formed a caravan of vehicles so we could get there without getting lost.
Three of them had performed at the Episcopal Church that morning and they met us on 12th St. As we gathered outside, the kids formed lines to get their makeup on while two adults went inside to make arrangements. The worship service had already started, but they had reserved a time slot for us just before the sermon. Finally, the kids’ makeup was on, the lights were set up, and the platform was cleared. The kids filed into the lobby, waiting for the signal to enter.
It was then I asked if anyone had brought the CD with the music on it. Everyone’s face went blank. No one had it.
We had no choice but to send the kids back outside. The associate pastor began his sermon inside. I hurried back to the church to get the CD.
When I got back, disappointment was still written over the faces of the kids. I could see it even through their makeup. Some were groaning that they were hungry. Some were just unhappy at the wait. Adults tried to console the kids and keep them occupied. And the sermon inside had just begun.
Fifteen minutes went by. I checked. The man was preaching. Thirty minutes went by. I checked again. He was still preaching. Another 10 minutes. It sounded like he was getting close to the end.
The kids wondered how long it would be. Not long, I told them.
Meanwhile, one adult told the kids not to despair. “We don’t know, but God might have a purpose for the delay. Maybe your song fits better after the sermon than before. We don’t know why God allowed this to happen.”
Finally, the sermon and the prayers were finished. I called the mime group to the door. They took off their shoes and silently filed up to the stage and they performed as they had rehearsed. And afterwards a small, but appreciative, congregation gathered around to thank them.
When I spoke with the associate pastor who had preached, he told me that the message of that song fit so perfectly with his message that he sat there and bawled for the first half of the song. The adult had been right.
I want to use that experience as a kind of parable to help us understand our scripture passage from Romans 8.
When Paul wrote to the Romans he said, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” Do you believe that?
Romans 8:28 is a wonderful verse. If you haven’t memorized it, put it at the top of your list. When we experience disappointments and failures and expressions of evil, we find it easy to slip into a mindset that says things just happen and we tend to forget that God is in control of our world, that the past has meaning, and the future has a destiny, and that history should be read as His story.
This week we approach the most disappointing event in all of human history in which it appears that truth is turned on its head, righteousness fails, and evil triumphs. How difficult it must have been for those people who escorted Jesus into Jerusalem with palm branches that day to see their joy turn to sorrow. It must have been hard for them to understand how God could bring something good out of the death of Jesus. But we who live on this side of the cross know that he did.
Romans 8 is a chapter I turn to sometimes to get my head screwed on straight again. For me this one short chapter provides a perspective like no other because it highlights several dominant themes of the Bible.
1. The first is that God is a God of purpose. 8:28 talks about being called according to his purpose. God is a living, active, purposeful God, one who does not engage in random activity. Everything he touches has a purpose and a destiny.
Not long ago, I was talking to a teenager and I asked him what he had planned that afternoon, and he said, “Oh, things just kind of happen.” Can you imagine God acting that way? That is not the way it is with God. His plan started long ago, before the foundation of the world, Ephesians 1:4 says. And it reaches beyond the end of time when he will make all things new.
When he created humankind, he created us in his image. Genesis 1:27 says, “God created humankind in his image.” That means you. It means me. The writer of Psalm 8 pondered the miracle of God’s creation –not just the moon and the stars and other celestial bodies- but that God has included us as a part of his creation. (Ps. 8:3,4). If you need a boost for your self-esteem, meditate on this chapter. It will lift your head out of the sand.
Unfortunately, the goodness he put within us has been hijacked, but he has rescued us by sending his son. And his plan is to make us like Jesus, so we will be conformed to the image of his son (Rom. 8:29). Jesus taught us that nothing escapes God’s notice, not even birds that fall from the sky. God has a purpose and he is working it out.
And when we learned last Sunday that the message of the mime fit so perfectly with the message of the morning, what else can we conclude but that God was in it. He makes all things work together for good.
Is that an affirmation you can make in your life?
2. The second theme we see in Romans 8 is that God works through his family. If you have your Bible open, look at v. 14. “For all who are led by the spirit of God are children of God.” That phrase occurs 5 times and in v. 29 we see that Jesus is “the firstborn within a large family.” Now what do you think these words refer to? Chapter 7 & the first part of 8 help us to see that if you are a Christian, a change has taken place. You have been transformed because Christ has changed you.
How did that happen? Verse 15 says we have been adopted. Some of you know what adoption is either because you have adopted a child or you have been adopted. Sometimes kids who are adopted worry that their parents don’t love them as much as they might love a biological child. But according to parents, nothing could be further from the truth. As one adopted child told his brother, who was not adopted, “Mom & Dad had to take you, but they chose me.” Adoption in God’s family puts you in a new relationship. You have been placed in a new family.
If we share God as father and if God’s Son is the first- born in a large family, that makes us sisters and brothers. Some have you have been guests in the homes of others and you go away saying, “They treated us just like family.” To be a member of a family means that you share certain responsibilities and privileges. You share things in common. God doesn’t just treat you like family. He brings you into his family. We are no longer outside. We are not even slaves. We are his children.
What better solution can you think of to the problem of our hate-filled world with its division of races, nationalities, skin color, political positions, and economic levels? There will come a day at the end of time when all of God’s people will come before him as his family. That will be a wonderful day. In the meantime, we have a foretaste of that day in the fellowship of Christ’s church. No, we are not perfect. Just as in a family we need to learn to get along, so in the church we work at learning to know one another and grow in our relationships. If there are people here today whose names you don’t know, take the first 3 minutes after church to get acquainted before you talk with your friends. You’ll be glad you did.
We all know that some attitudes can destroy a family. If people ignore each other, get preoccupied with their own interests or fail to respect each other, that can destroy a family. Those attitudes can also destroy the church. The Bible tells us often to love each other and to support each other. Last week one of you said, “I’m so glad to be a part of this church. I have never felt such love and acceptance.” I hope, even if we don’t always agree, that everyone can experience such love. As Paul says, “Let brotherly love continue.”
When these kids first began their mime rehearsals last year, I thought to myself “they won’t get it.” They had to learn to move arms and bodies, in time with the music. And they had to do it together. But gradually, as they rehearsed, they learned the pattern, working together, and as a result they have produced something that God can use to move the hearts of those who listen.
To me it is a picture of what God wants to do through his spiritual family. And I’m so glad I can be a part of it. If you are not a part of the family, I commend it to you.
3. The third theme we see is that there is a whole lot of groaning going on. V. 22 says “We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now.” And in v. 23 it says that “We ourselves groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.” And in v.26 we see that we “do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” What is this groaning? Last Sunday, I heard some groans as kids waited close to an hour for their mime to begin. Some were hungry. Some were tired. Some just wanted it to begin. But when it was over, I didn’t hear one groan.
Suffering is never pleasant, whether it is from disease, discrimination, or something else. We try to avoid suffering whenever possible. Recently, I saw an ad from a dentist who claims he can poke, drill, and fill your teeth and you won’t feel it. That would be great! But even if it does hurt, we go ahead, don’t we? Why? Because the end result will improve our smile or our health. We can endure suffering if it has a purpose.
Paul says in v. 18 “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.” We don’t have time to unpack all that Paul means by this verse, but if we go back to Genesis 3, we see that as a result of Adam’s sin, the earth no longer brings forth food spontaneously. Instead it brings forth thistles and thorns. If you want food, you have to work for it. Ever since that time, the creation has been groaning to be restored. Paul says that God will transform Adam’s rebellion into a new reality.
As things are now, beauty fades and loveliness decays in our world. When you pick a bouquet of flowers, does it look better or worse three days later? We live in a dying world. But God has taken on the mission of renewing and renovating, not just our lives, not just our relationships, but the whole world. Is. 65:17 says, “For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.” God’s plan of salvation will be complete.
The fulfillment and satisfaction and appreciation the kids felt last Sunday after their mime performance made it worth the wait just as our future glory far outweighs any suffering we may have to endure here on earth.
You may be experiencing more than your share of suffering. Your body may be falling apart. Your finances may be the pits. You may even have people taunting you because you go to church. Many people in the world endure severe suffering for their faith. But no matter what it is, God knows your situation. His spirit groans with you as you pray. You can be sure that God understands. He can see beyond your suffering. He knows what you can become. As you struggle with your suffering, be reassured that he will work things out for your good because he has a purpose for you.
This week as you ponder the meaning of Jesus’ suffering, don’t forget to view his suffering in the context of the hope and victory that we will celebrate next Sunday.
4. We can’t leave this passage without mentioning the last verses of Chapter 8. The final theme is that no matter what happens, God has not abandoned us. God is present with us. I know there is a lot of scary talk about disease, economic collapse, and terrorists. But evil is not the wave of the future. God’s loving care is. And so that long list of evil things in v 35,38,39, cannot do us in. We are more than conquerors, Paul writes. Let’s hear those final words of encouragement and victory. (v.38,39)
In conclusion, let me ask you. Can you say these words with confidence?
