“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. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” Romans 8:28-30
We do not have to live in the world very long before we understand the Second Law of Thermodynamics. This law introduces the idea of entropy, a gradual movement toward disorder. In essence, it means that things wear out. That new bicycle we just bought doesn’t keep getting newer and newer; it keeps getting older and older…it wears out. The general idea is that things change over time. This may seem good, or it may seem bad. We would not want to be seven years old forever; we want to change, to grow. Most of us like to quit counting at twenty-nine!
There is a routine that Archie Campbell and Roy Clark used to do on the television show Hee Haw. Here is just a portion of the skit:
Hey, I guess you heard about my terrible misfortune. No, what happened? Yeah, my great uncle died. Oh that’s bad! No that’s good! How’s come? Well, when he died, he left me 50,000 dollars Oh that’s good! No that’s bad! How come? When the Internal Revenue got thru with it, all I had left was 25,000 dollars. Oh that’s bad! No that’s good! How come? Well I bought me an airplane and learned to fly. Well that’s good! No that’s bad! How come? Well I was flying upside down the other day, and I fell outta the dern thing. Well that’s bad! No that’s good! How come? Well when I looked down under me there was a great big ole haystack. Well that’s good! No that’s bad! How come? Well I got a little closer and I saw a pitchfork aimed right at me. Well that’s bad! No that’s good! How come? I missed the pitchfork. Well that’s good! No that’s bad! How come? I missed the haystack too. Well that’s bad! No that’s good! How come? Well I bounced around a few minutes and an ambulance come and took me to a hospital. Well that’s good! No that’s bad!
This skit suggests that things that happen may seem good or bad at the time, but we are never sure. The passage in Romans states that God is working for our good in every circumstance of life when we are called according to his purpose and plan. This doesn’t mean that everything that happens to us is good. It means that God can even take bad circumstances and bring about a good outcome. We are not predestined to have either good or bad things happen. The predestination spoken of in this passage is in reference to the plan of salvation, the gospel. This was God’s purpose and plan from the foundation of the world. Revelation 13:8 speaks of Jesus as the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world. This is good news because whosoever will may come and drink of the water of life (Rev. 22:17).
The song Abide With Me has this line of encouragement: “Change and decay in all around I see. O thou who changest not, abide with me.” We can be certain that over time things will change and decay. However, we can also rest in a God who does not change and whose promises are sure and steadfast. And that, my friend, is good!
L Scott Gage