Pentecost 10

Pentecost 10 “WE KNOW” 7/21 & 24/05

“Yes, we know that all things go on working together for the good of those who keep on loving God, who are called in accordance with God’s purposes.” (Romans 8:28) I looked up this particular verse in 12 different Bible translations and every one…without a single exception…includes the vitally important, 2-word phrase “we know.” Look in your own Bible, take a minute right now, and see if the phrase “we know” is in Romans 8:28. We have read this in Scripture and we sing it in our hymns: “Praise to the Lord, who will prosper your work and defend you; Surely his goodness and mercy shall daily attend you.” In another great hymn, we sing “I know that my Redeemer lives! What comfort this sweet sentence gives” and in still another hymn, “We know that Christ was raised and dies no more. Embraced by death, he broke its fearful hold.” We say “we know,” but do we? What do we know and how does this show day to day?

In the face of injustice, unfairness, suffering, loss, sickness, frustration, and temptation, it’s tough to believe “that all things go on working together for the good of those who keep on loving God”! We can rather glibly quote “That God works in mysterious ways,” but we are usually referring to something wonderful that has occurred in our lives that is, otherwise, inexplicable. When we are faced with trial and trouble, do “we know” that God will make this all work out “for the good”? Ponder that a moment!

God finally provided elderly Abraham with a long-awaited son, only to direct Abraham to take his only son up the mountain to offer him in sacrifice. Do you know how this story concludes? Consider Joseph---sure, a bit of a boy-brat, and his brothers sell him into Egyptian slavery. Do you know how this story concludes? Remember, too, Saul throwing spears at David, Jonah soaking in the digestive fluids of a whale’s belly, and Saul heading to Antioch to retrieve and destroy all who believed in Jesus. Do you remember how these stories conclude? “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”

I have been on both sides of this verse. I’ve sat with countless families and friends as life crushes in and the tears seem to never dry. I have sat alone, fear falling fast all around me, with only an apparently silent God to keep me company. I, like many of you, have reached back to this verse from Romans and chanted it aloud or in the silence of my soul, almost as something I “wish,” rather than something I know! I know firsthand that it is precisely when I need the truth and power of the Word of God that Satan makes it most difficult to believe. “Oh, really?” we wonder. “Do all things really work together for good for those who love the Lord?” Abraham was blessed in his obedience; Isaac remained faithful; God used Joseph to save Israel from devastating famine; Nineveh was spared, because of and in spite of Jonah; and Paul met Christ on that road to Damascus, an encounter that changed the faith forever!

If stories in Scripture from long ago seem insufficient evidence of this biblical truth, review your own personal life experiences! I cannot count the times in my life, and as others have shared their lives with me, when God has taken something unfortunate, or even tragic, and transformed it into something good. After 6-weeks of dating, Jill had had more than enough of this self-centered, egotistical tennis pro and our paths did not cross for another 18 months. But, when God brought our paths together that next time, the rest is history! In 1986 I interviewed at a Lutheran Church in Lima, Ohio and---despite all the evidence to the contrary---they chose another man to be their Pastor. I felt devastated. But, 90-days later I was interviewing at a-place-called-Grace in Springfield, Ohio and the rest is our history! What examples of God’s transforming might you identify and share from the living of your life?

Of course the supreme example of God’s saving action is Jesus, who was captured, tried, and crucified as a criminal. This was the most brutal punishment ever conceived in that day, but look at what God did! In and through this horror of horrors, God redeemed the world! God changed us, saved us, and reconciled us through a dramatic demonstration of the depth of human sin!

One of the greatest gifts the Bible has to give us is the hundreds of examples of how, time and time again, God carried His people in and through the very worst that life brings; and how God turned these time into redemption and salvation. The only way to know the truth of this promise is by holding onto the truth of this promise when everything---and even, everyone---around us is shouting “It’s a lie! It’s a lie!” The only way we can look in the “eyes” of our present and face the days of our future is to look back over our shoulder and say: “Yes, I do remember when God turned defeat into victory…in the Bible and in my life.” “We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him.” But, then, you know that! AMEN.