Thankful That in the Messes of Our World, God Works GOOD, Through Jesus

On Tuesday afternoon, March 24, I was visiting with a homebound church member. This 95 year-old lady is still sharp. As we discussed how she was doing personally, she changed the subject. “The world is a mess!” While not wanting to overlook our blessings, I expect that each of us could find reasons we think our world is going in the wrong direction. This woman of faith was commenting on the various wars around the world. But I have heard people talk about crime, and about a lack of Christian faith and values where they once existed. Others talk about personal issues. Each of us knows problems in our world, problems beyond our wisdom and strength, problems which it seems only God can deal with.

So, during the week before Holy Week, what do you think the disciples were thinking. If we follow Scripture, it seems that the John 11 account of Jesus raising Lazarus occurred just before the events of Holy Week. His disciples knew the danger as he chose to travel to Jerusalem. “The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?" (John 11:8) The raising of Lazarus preceded the excitement of Palm Sunday and Jesus’ week of disputes in the temple. Then after the Passover Jesus was arrested, and tried on false charges, beaten and humiliated, and finally nailed to a cross until he died.

Jesus, the promised Messiah is put on trial by the religious leaders for fulfilling the messianic promises of the Old Testament! Jesus, the Son of God, the author of life, DIES! The hopes of the disciples for the coming of the kingdom of God are destroyed, they think. We think the world is in a mess. How do you think the disciples felt? Did they think their lives were a mess?

In order to receive the blessings of Jesus’ Easter victory, it is important that we also experience the events and struggles of Holy Week. Jesus’ rising meant victory over the treachery and violence of the religious leaders of His time. Jesus’ rising meant victory over the disappointments and troubles the disciples felt. Jesus’ rising meant victory over sin and death, over our sin and death. Therefore, please consider two Bible verses from Romans 8.

Many people I know have considered Romans 8:28 as their favorite verse. “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Please consider what God is not saying. This verse from God’s word does not promise that God only allows good things to happen to us. We know our world is full of evil because of the sin in our world, and because of the sin in our lives. It only makes sense that our selfishness, our hatred, our greed, cause troubles in our lives. What the verse does say is that all things work together for good. God even uses the arrest, and the false trial, and the beating, and the crucifixion, and the death of Jesus to work good. Jesus, the Son of God, takes on the sin of the world and pays the debt we owe. Jesus’ suffering and death is the WORST thing which could ever happen. Our Heavenly Father uses even the worst, the death of His Son, to love us, to forgive us, and to save us. Through our Lord, “ . . . all things work together for good.” Our sin leads to suffering and death, but GOD WORKS GOOD.

Then, in Romans 8:38-39 our Lord promises, “38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Our Lord loves us through death, and through the trials of life. Our Lord loves us through enemies, through evil powers. Our Lord loves us eternally through the death and resurrection of Jesus so that NOTHING will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

If God even works through the mess of Jesus’ arrest, and suffering, and death, He can work in the mess of our world. In fact, God promises that no matter what mess we face, His love for us in Jesus is sure.

What mess do you see in our world? In your life? Do you also know the more powerful love which our Lord gives through Jesus? Our world, or our lives, may indeed be a mess. But through the events of Holy Week, in Jesus, “ . . . all things work together for good.”