In the last blog we quoted the apostle Paul: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28 ESV). Paul puts two conditions upon all things working out for our good.
First, we must love God. That seems simple enough but it raises several questions. Why did Paul not say that all things will work together for good for those who believe in Jesus? Does that mean this promise extends to those who are not Christians? Is it possible to love God without knowing about Jesus? Don Richard in Eternity in Their Hearts lists multiple peoples who believed in God and wanted to know more about him but who had never heard of Jesus [1] so it appears it is possible.
Second, Paul also includes those who are called according to God’s purposes. Can God call persons according to his purpose without them being Christians? God worked through the nation of Israel in a special way but he still put Israel on par with other nations that existed at that time. Amos 9:7 states God moved nations other than Israel for his purposes. Cannot God move non-Christian people and nations today?
Notice that Paul says all things work together for good. Did he mean that all of our life experiences would be good or pleasant? In this passage, there is no guarantee of that but Paul assures us that in the end the totality of our life experiences will contribute to something positive.
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[1] Don Richardson, Eternity in Their Hearts, Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1984.
