Easier to Quote to Other People

On this CHRISTmas day afternoon I reflect on events of the last several months.

The most recent occurred early this week as a young missionary had an aneurysm and passed into his Savior’s presence the next day. He, his wife, and their two young children were booked to go back to the field in early January.

On the Saturday before the tragedy they updated their facebook to say they were on the way back, and to report that “God is so good.” On Wednesday the widow updated, “The Lord Gives, and Takes Away. But, Blessed be HIS Awesome Name! It is not about us. It is about God's glory! Our life is like a vapor, make it count for the Lord! Serve Him like my Hugo, store up treasures in Heaven because you might be there before you think! I love you all, keep the faith!”

The young lady recognizes the fact that when she typed “God is so good” on Saturday, He is also “so good” when Hugo was struck, and when he passed into Jesus’ presence.

It’s somewhat like when someone survives an accident, and says, “God was really with us during that episode.” So if a Christian dies in an accident, was God not with them? Of course not…

The older I get the more I recognize I don’t know a whole lot. Some of the things I used to think were crucial to the faith I now recognize are not really too important.

But three truths remain as bedrock:  God is wise; God is good; and God is sovereign.

And, though it is easier to quote Romans 8.28 to someone else; when we are in tough situations the verse and its truth still apply.

Are all things “good”? No. But our God is so big, our God is so mighty…and He causes all things to work together for good. For everyone? Nope. But for those “who love God and are the called according to His purpose.”

It applies when my 17-year-old nephew was killed in a car accident. It applies as Hugo took his eternal position in heaven. It applies to a young pastor whose blog I follow who starts chemo and radiation for a brain tumor soon. It applies to a dear friend whose granddaughter lived only a few days.

And, as many say often (but sometimes repetition causes us to hold loosely rather than tightly to truth), and is regularly expressed in prison chapel, “God is good, all the time; and all the time, God is good.”