Reference scripture: Romans 8:28

Perhaps the most difficult aspect of real life for preachers, theologians, and ordinary Christians to deal with is tragedy. Whether it is some horrific mass tragedy such as the events of World War 2 and the wholesale slaughter of six-million Jews, or the personal tragedy of the sudden death of a child. When really bad things occur we are faced with the question, if "all things work together for good to them that love God," why did this awful thing happen? The problem is that the question itself displays a misunderstanding of, not only that particular verse of scripture, but of the totality of Pauline Theology.

I began thinking about this verse in connection with two recent news stories. One dealt with a media and political controversy over the preaching of Pastor John Hagee. The other was the report of a tragic accident in the family of the Christian singer Stephen Curtis Chapman. In the first case Pastor Hagee was trying to answer the question, how could a loving God allow the holocaust to happen; and how could those events work together for good? In the second case, the family, friends, and ordinary people were asking, how can the death of a child be included in all things working together for good? These are difficult question emotionally and intellectually. However, for Paul, the answer was quite simple. The grace of God.

At the very core of Romans 8:28, the entire letter to the Romans, and Paul's theology and world view is the grace of God revealed to mankind through the person of Christ Jesus. Paul teaches that we are saved by faith, and that is a gift of God through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. And it is this faith that gives believers the assurance that God, who "so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son," (John 3:16) will make the final outcome of all things good for "them that love God." For by faith through our Lord Jesus Christ we have full access to the grace of God which gives us hope (confident expectation) in good times and tribulations; knowing that tribulation produces cheerful endurance; and that produces trustiness; and that produces confidence. By faith in God through Christ Jesus we can be confident then, that God who loves us so much that he sacrificed his son to pay the debt of our sins will, in the end, bless us beyond all our expectations. (Ephesians 3:20)

The important thing to remember is that it is all the events in the life of a believer that work together to produce confident expectation, cheerful endurance, and trust and confidence in God to include us in His glory as a part of His kingdom as full heirs with Christ Jesus in the final day. It is not any one event, any one occurrence, or any one deed that demonstrates God's grace. It is the totality of the events of our life, and how we demonstrate our faith in God during those events which work together to produce the great good at the end of life. It is the final reward of spending eternity in peace with our Heavenly Father and our adopted brother Jesus Christ.

We should also remember that bad events never means that we have lost God's love, or that he has temporarily suspended His love for us. This is the mistake about God exhibited in the question, "Why, if God loves me and knows I love Him, did He let this awful thing happen?" That question betrays a suspicion that perhaps God does not really love us; or He thinks we do not love Him enough. This is simply wrong thinking, and so a lack of understanding of God's grace.

Paul deals with this question in Romans 8:38-39. When he says that he is persuaded that nothing can separate us from the love of God, " which is in Christ Jesus our Lord, he is saying that he believes that nothing that happens in life means we have somehow been cut off from God's love for us. For Paul is cheerfully confident that the God who sacrificed His Son out of love for man never suspends His love for those who have accepted His free gift of salvation which come by faith in Christ Jesus. The fact that we face tribulations does not, therefore, mean that God has stopped loving us. The fact that some horrific event occurs does not indicate that we have been separated from the love of God. Paul is certain, and seeks to assure us, that at no time are we separated from God's love for us. And in the end, those whose faith endures no matter what they experience, will receive a reward far greater than anything mortal man could every achieve.

Therefore, when bad things happen, we should not ask why God did it or let it happen. We should praise God that He has given us the gift of his grace to have faith in Him through Christ Jesus; so that we may stand firm in the fullness of that grace, with confidence that God will fulfill His promise to us. And in the end, all things will work together for our good; not because we love God, but because He loved us first.

May the grace of God, the love of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the peace of the Holy Spirit be with you. Amen.