Robert Jones writes there are "two problems with how we use Romans 8:28-29."
First, the promise of “good” in verse 28 is not a blank check. We are not free to identify the good as whatever wished-for thing we want, even a very good thing like someone else’s repentance. While these parents understandably longed for their teenager to follow Jesus, God defines the good differently in this text. Amid many other possible goods, God prioritizes our own Christlikeness as our highest good.
The second problem may be more common: How? How, specifically, does God use hardships to make us like Jesus? We must not let Romans 8:28-29 become abstract. The rich truth that “God uses trials for his glory and our good” must not become a Christian platitude. We must labor to understand what that might actually look like in any given situation. To read the rest of the article click
http://tinyurl.com/bcc-godandsuffering
Especially in light of Pastor Duke's sermon this past Sunday http://www.emmanuelbaptist.com/messages/rekindle/rekindle.09.30.12.mp3 on suffering and persecution, this is a good blog article to read.
Think about how these truths should impact
- how we think about our own suffering
- how we pray for others in the midst of their own suffering
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