All things to good?
Tha apostle Paul assures us that God works all things to good for those who love the Lord, who are the called according to his purpose. On its face that is at times hard to believe. Much happens that seems productive not of good but ill. The thing was written to encourage faith but it is capable of stirring doubts as well.
But what if, in some circumstance, the good produced is not your own good? A friend of yours sees you bearing up under grievous trials, is impressed thinking that Christians have courage, and becomes a Christian himself. You have gained a friend for heaven and the future, and one would surely call that good.
Or perhaps troubles that seem, in the present day, to be only harm and hurt are teaching you some lesson that will useful in the future. Perhaps when young you get injured badly and learn lessons in wound care in the worst way (but the way that teaches best), and later on, you will comfort someone else who is hurt or even save his life.
Of course these musings are part of my current fascination with things glimpsed in shadow on the wild borderland of what we see and understand, where that country meets and crosses over into an unseen realm. If we understand the limits of our reasoning powers, we will have an easier time stepping back from the over-reasoned, overthought, overintellectualized divisions now wracking Christendom. I see the two missions as one in the same, to think less highly of human understanding and more highly of the Spirit of Truth.
But what if, in some circumstance, the good produced is not your own good? A friend of yours sees you bearing up under grievous trials, is impressed thinking that Christians have courage, and becomes a Christian himself. You have gained a friend for heaven and the future, and one would surely call that good.
Or perhaps troubles that seem, in the present day, to be only harm and hurt are teaching you some lesson that will useful in the future. Perhaps when young you get injured badly and learn lessons in wound care in the worst way (but the way that teaches best), and later on, you will comfort someone else who is hurt or even save his life.
Of course these musings are part of my current fascination with things glimpsed in shadow on the wild borderland of what we see and understand, where that country meets and crosses over into an unseen realm. If we understand the limits of our reasoning powers, we will have an easier time stepping back from the over-reasoned, overthought, overintellectualized divisions now wracking Christendom. I see the two missions as one in the same, to think less highly of human understanding and more highly of the Spirit of Truth.
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