I promised yesterday a study on Romans 8:28 so here it is. Yesterday I shared the verse from two versions of the Bible, 1. the NIV, and 2. The Amplified. Let's take a minute to look at the verse from a few other versions.
Phillips (published by Tyndale)
Romans 8:28) Moreover we know that those who love God, who are called according to His plan, everything that happens fits into a pattern for good.
Wuest
Romans 8:28) And we know with absolute knowledge that for those who are loving God, all things are working together resulting in good, for those who are divinely-summoned ones according to His purpose.
The Message
Romans 8:28) That's why we can be sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.
I love reading different versions of the Bible because a greater insight is gained. Before we can look at verse 28 let's take a minute to look at verse 27. Below I included the verse from the NIV. The Message simply states in verse 27 that He knows us far better than we know ourselves and keeps us present before God.
Romans 8:27) And he who searches our heart knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God.
So because of verse 27 we have the promises of verse 28. So what exactly does it mean to love God. God offers us free gifts, but there is always responsibility on our parts to do something. That something is to grab hold of the gift. For example, the gift of salvation is free. Nothing we can do makes us good enough to deserve it. The only catch is we must accept the free gift. The evidence comes in our actions after we accept the gift. Our lives must change once we accept His free gift of salvation. How does that relate to Romans 8:28? Let's keep digging.
The action called for in verse 28 is to love God. Okay, how? I remember as a little girl I would usually wake up early in the morning. My mom was also an early-riser. Every morning I would walk into the kitchen and she would always be doing one of two things. She would either be sitting at the kitchen table reading her Bible or she would be standing at the counter cooking breakfast. If she was cooking it meant she had already read her Bible. You see, she took the time to study that Bible. That is a way to love God. We must use our time to open the Bible and read it. It was her way of loving God. I have been back to Ohio twice since she passed away and each time I walk into the kitchen I get a big lump in my throat. I can still see her sitting at the kitchen table reading her Bible. The things you take for granted...
Speaking of my mom here is another thought on the topic of loving God. She used to say, "Anna, I just love Him so much." As a young girl and even a young adult I never got what she meant by that and wondered how she loved someone she couldn't see or audibly hear. It took me a long time to really understand what she meant and more so, how to do it. I believe what she was saying was, in essence, she loved who He was. She loved His attributes. Her loving and celebrating His character was her act of worship. I believe that is another way to love God, by celebrating just who He is. As I progressed on my journey of faith I began to understand how she could love someone she couldn't see or audibly hear. I am beginning to really love just who He is because I have personally experienced His grace, mercy, compassion, strength, patience, etc.
I believe loving God means obeying Him. It is really where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. Do I obey even when I don't want to or do I obey only when it's easy and convenient? Do I only obey when it is the socially acceptable thing to do? Do I obey when it will benefit me or my agenda? These are all important questions to ask yourself. Reading the Bible isn't enough. We must choose to apply it to our lives. He wants to be a part of every aspect of our lives. He wants included in all our decisions. I think the more time we spend studying God the more readily His principles come to us. They become a part of us and rise up more and more each time we are faced with decisions. Because our flesh is active and strong we can never stop studying God's Word. On this side of heaven we never stop needing fresh doses of God's truth. It is incredible how He will guide us if we just simply ask and wait for an answer. So another way to love God is to obey Him.
I am going to throw one of those "church-y" phrases at you right now. We love God by fearing Him. I have heard stories of people being raised in homes that taught of a hellfire and brimstone God. I have also heard of churches that preach this type of message. Personally I have never been to one of those churches. God is not someone to be scared of. I will tell you what I am scared of. I am scared of being distanced from God due to my own pride, unconfessed and unrepentant sin. I have thought this scenario in my head before. Bear with me for a minute here. Okay, so I die. The Bible says we will ALL face judgment (2 Timothy 4:1, 1 Peter 4:5, Romans 14:10). So I am standing before God and He says, "okay, you are Anna...let me see here. Give me a second while I open this book...hhhhmmm, nope I don't see the name Anna Michelle Limbird..." The Bible says if our names are not written in the Lambs Book of Life we will be condemned (Revelation 14:15). Now THAT is scary. For an unbeliever fearing Him is like the picture I painted a few sentences ago, fear of eternal damnation. I don't understand everything there is to understand about the whole God, Bible, Heaven, Hell thing, but this I do know...I do not desire to chance it. For a believer fearing God means to grasp His ability to judge us when it's all said and done. I fear His discipline during this life for disobedience. Even as a dumb college kid there was something instilled in me that feared God. I think that healthy fear kept me out of a lot of trouble! As a believer I can never be separated from His love (Romans 8:38-39) so there is nothing to be scared of. I love the definition of reverence from the dictionary. It reads, "a feeling or attitude of deep respect tinged with awe."
We love God by desiring what He wants above what we want. Yeah, this one is pretty hard too. Loving God ain't so easy, huh?! It is much easier to just say we do. The faith mentioned in the Bible is an active faith. True faith is doing something. I read an incredibly interesting article about this concept of seeking God's will. It stated that just seeking His will is a waste of time. Instead we should seek God Himself and by doing so His will is revealed to us through that intimate relationship. Psalm 37:4 says that if we delight ourselves in the Lord He will give us the desires of our heart. When I simply desire God my heart changes. When my heart changes my desires change. His will becomes my will. To love God is to delight in Him. To delight is to find great enjoyment in Him.
Phew...maybe I should save the second part of Romans 8:28 for another blog entry! Come back next time to learn how to be called according to His purpose. I think we all would like to be divinely-summoned, right?! If you can think of another way to love God please let me know. Discussions are a good thing.
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