It's all good?

"ALL THINGS WORK TO GOOD".......I have seen this passage beaten and abused beyond recognition. Somehow, the western church has come to believe that Jesus is a good-luck charm that will not let anything bad happen to us; no suffering, no pain and certainly to failure.

Many in conservative circles scoff at the overt prosperity gospel, but the subtle version may be even more damaging.

My Dad lost his father when he was only 15 years old. As the youngest of ten children, he was the only boy who was still living on the family farm. Quitting high school was his only option and the daunting task of running the farm at 15 must have been overwhelming.

After nearly 20 years of working heavy machinery for the North Carolina Department of Transportation, Dad had destroyed his back. Surgeons were able to fuse 4 vertebrae together and I never saw my Dad truly bend over. I can only imagine that his back caused him nearly continuous pain, but throughout my childhood and adolescence I never heard a word about it. He pushed through and continued to show us what it meant to work hard without complaining.

When my brother, Danny, was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy, I was just an infant. Mom and Dad must have been crushed. Mom tells me that every few years they would have an appointment at the Duke University Hospital where the finest doctors would inform them of the harsh reality of this cruel disease and lower their expectations. They never imagined that Danny would live past the early teenage years, much less, learn to drive and graduate high school. Danny was twenty-six when he died and he left a tremendous legacy of hope, perseverance and survival. He also suffered in silence.

Daily, it took Danny about 45 minutes for him to dress himself. Dad would have to stifle the desire to help, choosing to allow Danny to struggle and maintain a certain level of independence. Dad used a towel to muffle his own cries. Danny was a joy and a tremendous example to us all.

So, how do “all things work for good”? Certainly, we cannot be talking about new cars or careers. God is not writing us a blank check for anything that we desire. He is making a much larger and important promise. God is committed to conforming us to the image of Jesus Christ. Simply put, He is committed to making us better people. As a friend explained to me in the wake of our first ministry disappointment, “God is not concerned about your comfort. He is concerned about your character.”

Was Dad a better person in spite of all of life’s difficulties or was his character a result of all these bad things? 

Would a humble submission to God in the midst of life’s worse suffering produce the strength of character that would begin to resemble our Savior in some small way?