Romans 8:28a
Some people are
incredibly blessed. I would even say unfairly so. Whatever they do, they
succeed. They don't even need to try. They never get into accidents, or even if
they do they come out unscathed. They never get sick. When finances are a bit
of a worry, money would just magically appear out of nowhere for them.
Everything just works for them.
And it makes me
jealous. Why do they get to have the easy life, and I must have it so hard? Why
are You picking on me God? Why must I struggle every moment, when these other
people (who are much less faithful and obedient!) get to just glide through
life without a hitch?
The Blessed Ones
make it even worse when they turn around and say, "Don't worry, just trust
God and He will make things work out. Just have a little bit more faith. All
things work together for the good of those who love God, after all, right? Look
at me, I've been faithful, and see how much God has blessed ME!"
Which only makes me
struggle more. Things AREN'T working out for me. Life SUCKS. So what does that
mean? Does it mean that I don't love God? Does it mean that He doesn't care?
Does it mean that I don't matter to Him?
But take a moment
and think about it.
Does living the easy
life help anyone? Not that much really. Yes, maybe the blessed one can be in a
better place to give more, if they care to do so. But even when they try to
love others, they do not understand the
ones they are trying to minister to. They may try and sympathise, but it is
hard for them to empathise, to step in
the other's shoes and understand things from their perspective.
The Afflicted, on
the other hand, are blessed by their curse. Because they have suffered, they understand what suffering
means, and can love in a more compassionate and real way. You understand me
when you have lost as I have. Those who haven't, they're just pretenders. They
think they know where I'm coming from, but they don't really. Sitting high in
their marble towers, they can't truly imagine what life down in the mud is
like.
So the Afflicted are
in fact, in a very weird way, blessed: blessed because they have been given a
unique means to be a blessing.
Bible verses must
always be read in context. You can never understand a text without
understanding where it comes from; what comes before and what comes after. The
Romans 8:28a quote is a deliberate truncation to make you forget about the
before and after; but if you look at the full chapter (and more), then its true
meaning blows you away.
Romans 8 was written
to a suffering people, by a suffering man. Paul and the Christians he was
writing to were all suffering some form of persecution for their faith, some
more violent than others. "For I consider
that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory
that is going to be revealed to us." (Rom 8:18). "Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can
affliction or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: Because of You
we are being put to death all day long; we are
counted as sheep to be slaughtered." (Rom 8:35-36)
Paul
is not saying in Romans 8:28 that God will give those who love Him a perfect,
painless, easy life. He is saying that God, in His incredible and ultimate Sovereignty and Power, is able to transform all things - yes, even the most terrible, painful, horrible
things that Satan has to throw at us -
into things that work out for our ultimate Eternal good
and His glory. NOTHING can get in the way of God's goal: to transform us to be
like Christ. If you are God's Child, Satan can throw poverty, starvation,
cancer, job-loss, whatever, and he will NOT BE ABLE TO SEPARATE YOU FROM THE LOVE OF GOD.
The poor in spirit are blessed,
for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
Those who mourn are blessed,
for they will be comforted.
The gentle are blessed,
for they will inherit the earth.
Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are
blessed,
for they will be filled.
Matthew 5:3-6
So what is the point of all this suffering?
Transformation. Transformation to be more like Christ. Like gold refined in
fire, our souls are being burnt and cleansed by suffering so that we know the
glory of what it means to love as Christ loves.
And if you think that it's just all too much to bear, think of the one who suffered the most: Jesus Christ Himself. God didn't just ordain suffering for His followers; He Himself entered into that suffering WITH us. Why an all-powerful sovereign God would do that is beyond my understanding; if it was me I would stay far away from suffering! But God loved us SO MUCH He chose to enter into this suffering with us - and more, He took on the suffering of the entire WORLD on Himself!
So if you are
suffering, take heart. If you love Jesus, He has a good purpose for this
suffering for you; He will make all of
it worth it, as He will
use it to transform you to be like Himself. And if you think He doesn't
understand your suffering, think again: He took on the suffering of the whole World, so
that you can be saved. That is a might bit more than what you will ever go
through ;)
And it also makes me
think: You know, if all of my suffering can one day help lead just one person to Christ, I think that would be
worth it :) I say it with tears in my eyes, but I really think it would be.
UGHHHHHHHHHHHH
hahahaha
PS - Disclaimer: Just wanted to say that this understanding of Romans 8 was mainly because of a sermon that John Piper preached on this topic. Unfortunately I don't have the specific details (it's an oooold sermon). But yeah, I didn't come to this understanding myself :P
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