Future Glory!

[Carl Gobelman]

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28; ESV)

Very early on in my Christian life I came across this verse and clung to it as one of my very own. It's a great verse! Whenever I experienced trials or tribulations, I would trot this verse out for comfort. I would also use this verse to comfort others. It's a very comforting verse; no matter what you're going through, if you love God, he is working all things out for your good.

However, recently I've had a paradigm shift on this verse. My shift in thinking has centered on the word "good." What does it mean when Paul says God works all things out for our "good?" I used to think this primarily meant "good" in the here-and-now. I would often use my own life's circumstances to demonstrate this. For example, my first wife and I were divorced, and this was a devastating experience for me and my children. Yet God worked it all out for the good because I met and married a wonderful woman and I feel more blessed now than before. I'm sure we could all think of similar examples like losing a job only to find a better and more satisfying job 'around the corner.'

I am no longer convinced this temporal view of this verse is correct. Does God turn trials into blessings in this life? Absolutely! However, is this only true for Christians? In other words, is it only for Christians that God turns life's lemons into lemonade? I would have to answer 'no.' I'm sure there are many non-believers who could say that they've successfully rebounded from hard times. This is what theologians call common grace. As Jesus said, "For [God] makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:45). In other words, God blesses both believers and non-believers with health, success, etc. These blessings, however, have no salvific value. They don't indicate that one is a believer or a non-believer; hence the name common grace.

This passage isn't about common grace, but saving grace. The pericope this verse falls in is Romans 8:18-30 and it's talking about our future glory. The passage begins with this verse, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Romans 8:18). It's a comparison between the troubles that we all face in this life (despite common grace) and the glory that awaits us in heaven. To further demonstrate this point, vv. 29-30 present the 'golden chain' of salvation which speaks of Christians being foreknown, predestined, called, justified and glorified.

So I ask, based on this passage, does "good" refer to our temporal good in the here-and-now? I don't think so. It's talking about our good in the life to come; our future glory. So when Paul writes that God is working all things out for our good, he is saying that God will do whatever is necessary to ensure our eventual glorification when we are finally "conformed to the image of his Son."

Bottom Line: I am growing more and more convinced that our faith needs to be an eschatological faith. By that I mean our faith needs to be forward looking. In general, American Christians are too absorbed with life in the here-and-now, and that's because American Christians don't have to contend for the faith as Christians did in ages past. We've become spiritual lazy and complacent. Jesus never intended for us to have our 'best life now.' Glory awaits us in the future when Christ comes to consummate his kingdom!

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