Working together towards good

Kalamazoo Mennonite Fellowship
Will Fitzgerald
August 9, 2009 Passage: Romans 8:18-39

Working together towards good:

This passage in Romans is one of the most important passages in all of Christian scriptures. It is part of the Christian’s answer to some of life’s biggest questions, “Why are we here?” and “Why is there suffering in the world?” and “Does anything really matter?”

Suffering, now

We can note, first of all, that these questions are everywhere, and an honest description of the way things are. Paul goes so far as to say that “all creation” is groaning in pain, wondering why things are the way they are. In fact, this painful groaning is itself part of the pain: it is one kind of pain to suffer something, and an additional kind of pain to know you are suffering. Here are some of the ways Paul says it:

• Things don’t seem to matter (“subject to futility”).
• Things are forced to be meaningless (“not by its own will”).
• Things fall apart, and there is nothing you can do about it (“bondage to decay”)

And Paul lists several very specific ways of describing the suffering we undergo:

• oppression or hardship (hardship and distress)
• being harassed (persecuted)
• hunger and famine
• so poor that you’re naked
• risks and dangers
• the ‘sword’ or the violent power of those who oppose us

Glory, then

In the midst of all the badness of the world towards us, and the badness within us, it is easy to get discouraged and just … give up. But Paul says we, and all things, are really destined for something else, which he calls “glory,” a glorious revealing of the ways things are going to be, not the way they are.

Dictionary.com definition of “glory” — which is a pretty good approximation of the Greek word

1. very great praise, honor, or distinction bestowed by common consent; renown: to win glory on the field of battle.
2. something that is a source of honor, fame, or admiration; a distinguished ornament or an object of pride: a sonnet that is one of the glories of English poetry.
3. adoring praise or worshipful thanksgiving: Give glory to God.
4. resplendent beauty or magnificence: the glory of autumn.
5. a state of great splendor, magnificence, or prosperity.
6. a state of absolute happiness, gratification, contentment, etc.: She was in her glory when her horse won the Derby.
7. the splendor and bliss of heaven; heaven.
8. a ring, circle, or surrounding radiance of light represented about the head or the whole figure of a sacred person, as Christ or a saint; a halo, nimbus, or aureole.

In the now we see sufferings. In the then we will see glory.

Hope, now

We hope, which is waiting with patience for something that we know will happen. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18:

So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.

We accept the Spirit’s aid, who prays deeper and with more anguish then we ever could, and who always prays just the right thing for us

We rejoice that “all things work together” towards the final realization of the good glory of God.

Note that this is not to say that “all things” are good, just that God, in God’s infinite power and love can use anything to bring about good. Paul is very clear that that bad things happen to the whole world, “all creation,” and to God’s people. In one place in the Greek translation of the Old Testament (Is. 38:12), it is used to translate “to weave,” and I like the image of God weaving together all of the different threads of our lives to make a good, beautiful, “glorious” weaving.

“Work-together” means to cooperate. Co-workers “work together,” (and this is a common usage in the New Testament when Paul, for example, talks about his co-workers). “All things” are co-workers in bringing about God’s ends.

“For good” means something like “will have, as their final state, good.” “Towards good” or “unto good.”

Now, this scripture says all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. Paul does not mean, here, a particular “plan for your life,” and, that, if you miss a step, you are no longing living according to his purpose, and therefore, things won’t be working together for good. The purpose of which he speaks is that general end of “glory.” We will always “know in part and see in part,” but someday, there will be glory.

Also, for what it’s worth, Paul is not here saying anything about those who do not love God. He is talking to people who now love God, and he is giving them encouragement in the midst of their trials and tribulations. God’s purpose, Paul says, to raise a great big family—with Jesus as our oldest brother.

And this end is sure as sure; it’s a strong law of the universe. If you love God, you can be sure you are on the glory train: if you’ve been called, if you’ve been chosen, God will making you into someone capable of glorification. If the Spirit is praying for us, how can we fail?

Can anything separate us from this loving God? No—nothing. Not pain or sorrow or depression or cancer or hunger or oppression or danger. Not powerful spiritual forces arrayed against us—powers or evil angels or consumerism or militarism or individualism. This is beyond death, beyond life itself, higher than any height, deeper than any depth. Nothing can stop us from reaching that glory, God loves us so much.