1-11 | All Things Work for Good [Part 2]
Is it Really All About Me?
This is the second of a two-part look at Romans 8:28. Read Part 1 HERE.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” -Romans 8:28
Blessing, blessing, blessing. That’s what we want. A clear plan and God causing all things to work out for us and all that we do to prosper. I mean, isn’t that what the psalms say?1
“Come on, somebody! God is working everything for your good, so take hold of what’s yours!”
What comes through is a message that “all things working for good” is all about me…or you. In fact, I googled images for Romans 8:28. (Feel free to do it now if you’d like.) Do you know what I found? Image after image quoting this verse and changing the wording. (I thought that was an no-no.) I found several that quote it as “All things work for my good.” My good.
I’m not saying that God doesn’t have your good in mind or that he doesn’t work for your good. There are individual benefits, but the problem is that we tend to think that “all things” are only about me. All things include stuff like…
My finances
My marriage
My health
My little dog
Not much about my neighbor
My parking spot at the grocery store
My weight
My sports team
It’s Not Entirely MY Fault
For years, the church has preached a message about me. No, not Paul Church, but the idea that the gospel is all about us individually. We’ve preached about how to save money (when the main goal was telling people how much to give). We’ve preached about health and nutrition. We’ve preached about all kinds of relationship issues. (If I hear about a pastor’s “smokin’ hot wife” one more time!) Some churches even preached that married couples should have sex every day for a month. That one actually sounds pretty good to…you guessed it…me.
But there seems to be a movement happening among people today fueled by a belief that the Gospel is bigger than any individual. I believe it’s a divine un-satisfaction with a surface level devotion that centers around my desires and comfort. Jesus died for more than my personal fulfillment and entertainment. It’s not just coming from Millennials and Gen Z. In fact, I hear it just as often from Gen X. There has to be more!
What Exactly is All Things?
2First, we should understand that all things does not equal my things. All things, as it says, is ALL THINGS. This is the God that sustains all things by his powerful word.3 Jesus is the one under whose feet God has placed all things.4 All things were made through him.5 And he is the one with whom all things are possible.6 (And don’t start thinking that last one is about you running a marathon.)
So you see that all things is pretty huge. And he is able to work all things for the good because he is over all things. You and I are included in the category of all things, but all things is a whole lot bigger than you and me. (Kudos if you didn’t have to read that twice.)
Here’s the really cool part we always seem to miss…
I’m no Greek scholar, but there’s something that seems clear to me when you take a look at the original language of Romans 8:28. The Greek word used for work is synergei. Does that sound a little familiar? It’s where we get our word synergy which means to work together for a greater effect.
Work together.
Read it like this… “In all things, God synergizes with us for the good.” It’s okay to pause for a moment to recollect your blown mind.
He works with us to accomplish what is good. The work we do together produces a greater effect than what I can do on my own.
Stop for a moment—
Would knowing that change how you pray? Would it cause you to pray more? Would you live differently? Would you keep your head up more and your hands more open to what might come to you?
Romans 8:28 isn’t about having faith for God to do something for me. It’s about synergy between God and us which doesn’t allow us to sit around waiting for God to make our lives more comfortable
In Matthew 19 Jesus talks about what we refer to as the end times. However he calls it “the renewal of all things.”7 Oh yes, he is working all things for the good. Not only that, his plan is to work with us—synergize with us—to accomplish it.
How Does That Work? I’m glad you asked.
Our decisions, responses, actions toward others, maybe simply washing feet brings renewal—the Kingdom of God to Earth. We have the power of life and death. That is to say we can either bring death or bring life. We bring death when, like the goats of Matthew 25, we ignore the needs of others and focus on ourselves. Life comes when we truly see others and bless them.8
We don’t always know when those opportunities will come. We don’t even know how many opportunities we’ve already had today. How do we spot them? Like my unwitting mentor, Bob Goff, likes to say, “Keep your head up and on a swivel.” I would add, “And do the next right thing.”
It’s not complicated. In fact, it’s right in front of you, right now. The next decision. The next step. All the while, God is with you, guiding you and synergizing with you to multiply your efforts.
Oops…there we go again! We’re not talking about multiplying your workout, but making your light and influence bigger for the sake of the gospel.
Psalm 1:3
Okay, grammar nerds. In the paragraph heading I used “is” when the object is plural. However, I’m speaking of “all things” as a concept rather than a collection. So I‘m treating the object as singular. Hence the “is”.
Hebrews 1:3
Ephesians 1:22
John 1:3
Mark 10:27
Matthew 19:28
Matthew 25:31-46