All Things Working Together for Good
My aunt and uncle had driven from Montana to visit our family in Spokane, Washington. My dear aunt was known as a wonderful Christian and a bad driver. While in “Reverse,” parking in front of our family car, she hit the gas pedal too hard, crashed into and crushed the fender. Exiting her vehicle, Aunt Edith smiled broadly at my father, who was standing on the sidewalk, gazing incredulously at what had just happened! “Well, Al,” she said, “All things work together for good to those who love the Lord!” This story became one of Dad’s all-time favorites, and he often good-naturedly recounted it.
I really liked this sign we discovered hanging above the exit at a Lutheran church on the Palouse Prairie.
My aunt had an indomitable faith in God, forged through a good deal of suffering. Life hadn’t been easy, neither before nor after, her husband lost most of his eyesight in World War II. She was a woman who learned to surrender to God’s love despite adversity. She not only believed the promise of Romans 8:28, but she had experienced the “why” of that verse, found in Romans 8:29, which says God works everything together for good so that we will be formed into the likeness of Jesus.
In Surrender to Love (Chapter 4 – Transformed by Love), author David Benner, discusses repentance, an essential and ongoing aspect of spiritual formation, stating:
“Jesus’ call to each one of us is a call to be aware of his presence, to turn toward him and to surrender to his love. This is the call he offers me each and every day of my life ….
Conversion is the lifelong transformational process of being remade into the image of God …. My attachment to sinful ways of being is much too strong to ever be undone by mere willpower …. Divine love transforms both my heart and my will …. Divine love enables me to choose God’s will over mine. Without this, repentance will be nothing more than a self-help scheme based on effort and resolve.”
So, today, I ask myself what circumstance in my life do I desire God to work together for “good.” Then, in the process—and hopefully, while paying close attention to my driving— how am I surrendering to God’s love and becoming a more accurate reflection of Jesus?
Questions worth pondering this September day,
