Something that came up in the GriefShare group last night has stuck with me still today. So heres a rushed thought or two about one of the most oft used and misunderstood verses in scripture. We all know Romans 8:28. Whenever something in life goes haywire we tend to quote a portion of it - almost in exasperation - and then attempt to move on. All things work together for good...this verse is often used in an attempt to comfort people who are going through the most un-good things imaginable. It was quoted to me often in the wake of Sonjas death and I suppose that Ive offered it to others over the years as an attempt at scripture comfort during their dark seasons of life. Unfortunately, we often interpret this as this thing in my life right now is good...but its not. A child dying is not good. A spouse dying is not good. A parent, a sibling, a friend, a grandparent dying...this is NOT good! Its awful. It hurts. And, in the midst of it all, it is impossible to imagine anything coming out of it that would make it seem good. Quoting Romans 8:28 without an understanding and context of Romans 8:29 is like applying a bandage without attempting to reset the broken bone. The good of Romans 8:28 is the becoming more like Jesus of Romans 8:29. But the sad events in our life are most definitely NOT good and Romans 8:28 quoted alone offers very little comfort to the widow, the orphan, and the childless. This life is awful for the Christian. Everything around us is dying and decaying. Sadness and heartbreak are a horrible part of life in this broken, fallen world. Everybody we know is dying and every one of us will likely experience horrible tragedy at some point in our life on earth. But we have something to look forward to! We are, after all, strangers and pilgrims. This life - this (at times) awful, painful journey - is about becoming more like Christ until (at last) we reach our final rest and become like Him! The difficulty we have is seeing and believing that the best thing in this life is becoming more like Jesus. Being pressed into His image is the thing that makes all these momentary and light afflictions bearable. Its the only thing that makes them so.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 16:09:35 +0000