As I said in my previous posting…I think much of the confusion over a fatalist God can be traced back to a miss interpretation of Romans 8:28.  Let me try to explain.  Romans 8:28 simply says…

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (ESV)

Now this verse is slightly different than the King James rendering.  The King James translation states…

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Do you see a difference in the two?  The King James version…which has probably been the most quoted version of the 20th century, seems to imply that everything that happens is a part of God’s greater plan.  In other words, given enough time (hindsight is always 20/20) everything that happens will somehow have been proven to be good and/or necessary.

Now I do believe that the Bible teaches that God can and will accomplish His will and good purposes no matter what!  However, that is quite different than saying everything that happens in this world is somehow good or necessary.  The other piece of the puzzle is that often we leave out the small but critical understanding that this verse is specifically talking to those who 1) LOVE GOD and 2) Are called according to His purpose.  And the truth is that this leaves out a lot of people.

Those that seemingly point the finger at God (as one who is designing everyone’s life choices) fail to comprehend the difference between what God causes and what God allows.  There are many instances in the Bible where we see the nation of Israel falling under harsh circumstances not because God willed this to happen but because they were consequences of their own foolishness.

The truth, even if we don’t like to admit it, is that sometimes we face hardships and trials because they are the results of sinful choices.  They are a result of our own choices and not God’s doing.  Secondly, bad things happen because we live in a fallen world.  To think that Christians live in a bubble, free from harm and persecution, free from hurt and pain, does nothing more than minimize the fall of the human race.

Why is any of this important?  Well, if we pin everything that happens in this world, whether it be good or bad, it can create an unjustified anger and resentment towards God.  Secondly, it can cause us to gloss over areas of sin that reside deep down in our souls.  Lastly, if we blame God, gloss over sin in our lives, we most likely dismiss any responsibility for our own bad decisions.  And you and I both know,  if this becomes a pattern, we create an epidemic of irresponsibility.  And I don’t think any of us want to go there.

In the end…God hasn’t promised us that everything that happens in life is good and will “work out.”  However, He has promised us that His love endures forever and that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Romans 8:37-39).  It is in that promise that I see the goodness of God.  And it is in this God and in this promise that I find rest!