at Rev. Joseph’s church. When Rev.
Joseph welcomed me to the front of the church to give my message, I took a deep
breath, said a quick prayer, and walked to the front. I calmly put down my bible on the small table
in the front and began to speak.
Romans Chapter 8 verses 28 and 29…
“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. For those whom He foreknew, He
also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so the He would
be the firstborn among many brethren…”
I talked to the believer; I explained that this promise of
God’s working all things together for the good, is for those who love Him and
are called according to His choice and that what fleshly men often see as their
highest good pales in comparison to the good that is promised for those that
love God. What is that good? Wealth,
popularity, a perfect marriage, loving kids, an enjoyable job, and a peaceful
death? No, Better. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son. The answer is in the text: conformity to the
image of Jesus Christ is the great good. If you love God, He is actively working all of creation and every event
of human history to make you more like Christ. Christ, the one who went to the
cross for the joy that was set before him. Christ, the one who from the
cross asked God to forgive the very ones who were crucifying Him.
Christ loved unconditionally. Even the wicked love the
people who treat them well, but Christ calls His followers to love their enemies. So coming to Christ is not a promise that
your marriage is going to be eternal marital bliss, but rather, when God gives
you a spouse that is going to drive you crazy at times, He is going to give you
the strength to love them anyway. It is
not a promise that you will not get cancer, but rather, if you do Christ will
give you a profound joy in it that the world knows nothing about.
So, no matter what happens to you, you can count it joy
because our hope is not set on things that perish and wither, but rather on the
living God who is actively working all things for our good, molding us into the
image of His Son.
various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so
that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
