All things do not work for the good of those who love the Lord…
In the 28th verse of the 8th Chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, we find a familiar piece of scripture that is often quoted by Christians…
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him…
One of my problems with people who quote scriptures is that they often leave off the important piece of information that actually makes the difference. If you read the entire 28th verse, it states…
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.
I hope that you can see the difference in meaning when leaving off this tail end of the scripture. I see people all of the time who think that because they love God and call themselves Christians that things will work in their favor. They say and do nasty things but end it with “Be Blessed” or some other Christian reference as if to say that their love for Christ justifies their actions.
Here’s the skinny… many times we can believe in God, we can have a relationship with God, we can be doing good things but if we are not living our purpose and doing the things that God has called us to do then no, all of those things still may not work out in your favor. If you haven’t found your purpose in life or answered the calling that God has placed in your life then this may be hard to understand. Before I answered my calling, I thought I was living the good life. I was blessed and things were going ok because God was preparing me for what was next. Once I heard the calling, I tried to take my time getting back to God but let’s just say, he wasn’t really feeling that. Once I began to live according to HIS purpose and not my own; the blessings that I was receiving in the past paled to compare with what came next.
It doesn’t matter where you are in your faith walk, you must get to know God and read his word for yourself. Don’t count on people who quote parts of scripture for your salvation. Find that scripture and read the entire book (not just the passage or the chapter) for yourself so that you can have a clear understanding of what was going on and the context of the scripture so that you can learn the lesson that the scripture is trying to teach you.
I almost often tell congregations when I’m speaking that many of us proclaim to love God and that He is the head of our lives yet we know nothing about Him except what other people tell us. It’s almost like being infatuated with a celebrity. You read about them, hear other people talking about them and see them doing the thing that makes them “special” but you don’t know them personally. When we are truly in love with someone, we want to know as much about them as possible. We try to spend as much time with them as possible. We get upset and begin to feel neglected when they are not able to make time for us. The same should be true in your relationship with God. If you are truly in love with Him, you should not want to rely on what other people say about Him. You should have a burning desire to know Him for yourself. When you do and begin to get in tune with the calling and purpose for your life, it won’t matter what other people say or think about you. Your life will be turned outside in – you won’t be focused on what’s outside as much as what’s happening on the inside. You won’t have to tell people that you are Christian, they will be able to see that glow from within.
I could go on and on but I’m going to close with a quote that was very popular on my FaceBook page this week. I got the image from a BBM group – Praying Parents.
