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Scripture for the day: Romans 8:28, 31 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose …. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Thought for the day: Paul has spent all the rest of his time outlining to the Roman Christians God’s plan of salvation and what being a follower of Christ means. He was concerned for their spiritual welfare and wanted to make sure they fully understood the relationship they had with the Father through the Son. Finally, as a conclusion to his arguments concerning the faith, he brings his readers to one of the greatest chapters in the entire Bible, Romans 8. He begins with “no condemnation” and ends with “no separation;” bless God. Satan is against us but God is for us, so what difference can Satan ever make? Satan is strong but God is stronger. “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ” (2 Cor. 2:14a).
Listen, God is for us by choice. Paul talks a lot about foreknowledge and predestination and when I read those words in verses 29-30, I have to admit I don’t understand it all (and I’m not sure I trust anyone who says they do). If we are predestined to be like Him, what happened to free choice? No, I don’t understand it all, but I know this: “He is not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). There are two things you and I need to remember. First, we are part of God’s plan. He has intended that we become instruments of reconciliation. We have been appointed as ambassadors from the Kingdom of God to the peoples of the earth. We mean something to God that goes far beyond anything we might do. We mean something to Him because of who His is and because He has chosen us.
Second, we need to remember that God’s purpose in us is holiness; Christlikeness. He wants us to be like Jesus in thought, word, and deed. Paul told the Ephesians, “He has chosen us …. That we should be holy and without blame before Him in love” (Eph. 1:4). I can never be holy and without fault as He is, but the Spirit can make me holy and without blame before Him.
Far too often we’re tempted to answer as did Gideon when the angel of the Lord came to him and commissioned him to lead the children of Israel. “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about” (Judges 6:13a)? We tend to focus on our situation rather than the One who has called us according to His purpose. God is for us; He gave His only Son for our salvation. God is for us; He shed His own blood and became the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. He provided, and still provides, a means of forgiveness and restoration. If that reality isn’t enough to settle the question of whether or not God is on our side, I don’t know what it will take. Paul asks: Shall he not forgive our sins? “Whom He called, He also justified” (Romans 5:1).
Shall He not call us family? “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16).
Shall He not deliver us from the control of sin? “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2).
Shall He not teach us the power of prayer? “The Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us” (Romans 8:26).
I don’t understand it all; I’m sure I never will. Many scholars far more intelligent and learned than I have struggled with the things of God. Have you ever looked at the back of a tapestry? There are threads going every which way, chris-crossing the area in ways that seem to make no sense at all. There are knots sticking out from the surface where one color thread ends and another begin. In short, looking at the back, the tapestry is a confusing mess. But when you turn it over so the picture is showing as intended, you know that a master weaver has been at work. What seemed to be a meaningless jumble is suddenly transformed into a thing of beauty. Paul says that’s what our life is like when we are in Christ Jesus. He’s creating a thing of beauty, whether we can see it or not.
Now go take on your world. - Bill