Romans 8:28
“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.”
The Essence of a Christian’s Life
A strong case could be made that Romans 8:28 is the essence of what Christians absolutely must have faith in, if they want to conduct their life without falling into despair. We can be subject to decisions and circumstances that others make and over which we have little to no control, which can cause us to think life is unfair. However, as Christians we must not lose our perspective. We must embrace the perspective of Romans 8:28, which is an encouraging and comforting promise. When we carefully consider this promise, we must contemplate the conditions.
First, we must acknowledge God’s sovereignty and ability to manage every aspect of our lives, though we must face the sufferings of this present time (Romans 8:18). God is able to make even our sufferings work together for our good and His good. Our belief and faith that God will work all things out for our good, in hard times, can be a very difficult test of our heart and mind. God does not begin to work with us, simply to abandon us, in the midst of our present sufferings.
Second, we must be one of “the called according to His purpose,” or one of the elect. This does not appear to apply to those who have merely received an invitation from the Father, to enter into their time of judgment. Although the invitation goes out to many, there are fewer individuals that accept and appropriately respond to the Father’s invitation and the subsequent time of judgment, which accompanies that invitation. The invitation goes out to many, but few become part of the elect (Matthew 22:14).
If we meet these two conditions, our Father and elder brother, Jesus Christ are with us. We can be encouraged and take comfort in that assurance. Our participation is essential and our heart and mind must reflect the purpose of their invitation. Our sufferings will not always work out the way we would like for them to be in the life, but the message of Romans 8:28, is that we must be confident and trusting that God will work things out for our greater good.
