November 12, 2021 TO THOSE WHO LOVE GOD
Romans 8:28-31,35 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?” “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecutions, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”
The promise that “all things work together for good” is not a blanket promise to all people; this promise is for a specific group of people-for those who “love God and or called according to His purpose.” (I am not certain that this promise applies to all believers; if a believer is living contrary to the ways of the Lord, do all things work together for good for that person? I think that ultimately things do work together for good for him as God even uses the fruit of our wayward ways to bring us back to Him.) However that may be, let us look at the promises that are for those who love God. Most would be quick to say that they love God; however, we may need to take a closer look at what does it mean to truly love God, and what are the evidences of a love for God. First and foremost, love is a matter of the heart. To love God means that we think about Him often; it means we want to do things that are pleasing to Him; it means that we want to get to know Him intimately; it means that we honor Him; it means that we desire to walk in His ways-to obey Him; and it means that we will be drawn to His word. The important thing to understand is that we do not do all of these things in order for Him to accept us or be pleased with us; we do these things because they are a result of loving God. The fruits of love just happen-it does not take effort to love-and that is the freeing part. If a young man is in love with a young lady, no one has to tell him to call her, make a way to be with her, to buy her flowers, do things that she enjoys-or whatever. So it is with loving God; knowing Him and being in fellowship with Him is our greatest desire in life. You may be thinking that “If I did all of those things, I would be perfect.” We may stumble along the way, and we may revert back to our self-life on occasion, but God is always drawing us to Himself, and the love for God that is rooted in our hearts will surface and our fellowship with our Father is restored. You and I are predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus-that is where God is taking us and no one or anything will prevent that. Our part is to love Him, and as the Holy Spirit guides us and equips us, we adjust our lives to the example we have in Jesus. Our ultimate calling is to be like Jesus! Let us find rest and peace in the fact that we cannot escape the love that God has for us and that He is for us; and if God is for us, who can be against us? Nothing cannot thwart His purposes. Knowing the plans God has for us and knowing His love for us, how could we not love Him, and how could we not desire to live according to His plans for us?
1 John 4:16-17, 19 “And we have come to know Him and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.” “We love, because He first loved us.”
Blessings,
Buddy
RSS Feed