Easter Sunday, the day we celebrate the resurrection of
Jesus. It is the pinnacle of the yearly calendar to the Christian. Even many of
the unsaved will flock to churches today in response to the holiday, not
because they believe in Jesus or in His resurrection, but for varying reasons,
such as, Mom asked them to, they go. Why is Easter Sunday so popular? Because whether
we are avid followers of Christ or merely go to church to keep mom happy,
humans need hope and if nothing else, there is hope found in this concept of
resurrection.
It seems appropriate that my morning reading and study this morning
finds me here.
Romans 8:28
And we know that for those who love God all things work
together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
It is easy on Easter morning to have hope while sitting in a
church, wearing your Sunday best clothes, next to your family who loves you,
with a nice ham in the oven at home, where all will gather for a nice meal and
a fun day watching your children hunt down little plastic eggs filled with
candy on a beautiful spring day.
But what about all those out there this morning who just
lost a loved one to addiction? Or whose little boy went missing last week and
whose little body was dragged from a lake Saturday morning? Or whose body is
made weak with cancer that has spread into parts of their body that will not
only inflict severe pain, but will at its peak, take the life of someone who is
only in their thirties? The truth is, this world is filled with all sorts of
horrible and terrifying events. There is evil and there is suffering all across
this world. How do we live with any sense of peace and hope in the midst of
such dreadful suffering?
The answer is found in Romans 8:28.
Romans 8:28
And we know that for those who love God all things work
together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
First of all, we see that the promise is only for those who
love God. We also see that it is for those who are called according to His
purposes. The truth of the words that tell us this are deeply theological and
profound. Maybe you do not understand them. Maybe you misunderstand them. While
it is important to seek the deep theological aspects of knowing God, that is
not the necessary requirement of salvation. Faith is what saves us. Ephesians
2:8 tells us that “by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not
your own doing; it is the gift of God.”
Maybe you are reading this and not sure that you are called
by God to have this saving faith. But I offer that if you are reading this and
even asking this question, then you are being led by God, through the
conviction of the Holy Spirit, to seek to know Him. As long as you have breath,
you can reach out to Jesus and call on His name. Jesus said this in John 6:37, “All
that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never
cast out.” If you call on His name, He will never cast you out.
This is where the great promise of Romans 8:28 kicks in for
those who love God. It tells us that “for those who love God all things work
together for good.” This might be the greatest promise of the Bible. If you
hang around with me long, you will find that it is a verse I hold dear to me
heart. God has made an unbelievable promise here. He has promised that if you
are His by faith in His Son, Jesus, then every single thing that ever occurs in
your life, He is working out for good.
The death of Christ is the perfect example. Imagine the
wonders and joy of having Jesus as your friend and teacher who you spent every
day with for three years and then is suddenly arrested for doing nothing wrong,
given a bogus trial and is wrongly convicted, and sentenced to death, and then
killed in the most excruciating way possible, hung on a cross to die a slow
death. What could be any more devastating than that?
Yet, the death of Christ was the means by which sinful, evil
people, could be saved from the penalty of their own sins and would result in
eternal life spent in the presence of God, where suffering and pain will no
longer exist. God worked it all out for good to those who love Him and are
called according to His purposes. This is the hope of Easter Sunday. We. Like Christ,
can be resurrected to new life.
That new life never promises an earthly life of ease, no it
actually promises Christians will face suffering, persecution, and difficult circumstances.
But the promise God in Romans 8:28 is that no matter what we face on earth, He
is working it out for good.
Everything. Bad or good is being worked out by God for good.
Everything.
So, this morning if you are Christ’s, if you have been led
to call on the name of Jesus, then you can know that whatever has happened,
whatever is happening, whatever will happen, is being worked out for good by
our God.
If you are not Christ’s but you feel Him calling you to
reach out to Him, then He will use all these things in your life for good as He
causes you to call on His name, even in desperation and a sense of hopelessness,
for there is hope in Him and that hope is a sure hope.
Today is Easter Sunday. It is Resurrection Sunday. Call on
Jesus. He will resurrect you to new life and cause you to be born again. The
promise of scripture will be yours and you can live in joy no matter the
circumstances you find yourself in.
I leave you with this wonderful description of the life of
the Christian as we are led by our Great Shepherd.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
Happy Easter!
