The Transforming Word of God

How would you define "good"? We usually associate that word with enjoyment, comfort, pleasure, purpose. Good things bring joy and happiness. Good tends to center on self—what you call good might not be good in my eyes. Or I might enjoy things and activities that you do not enjoy. When we see others suffering with ill health, loneliness, insufficient finances, etc., we Christians tend to use Romans 8:28 as a one-size-fits-all verse of encouragement: For those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. But the truth is that the discouraged may become more discouraged when things don't seem to be working out for their good, when problems seem to be multiplying rather than decreasing, when everything looks bleak. They begin to wonder, "Don't I love God enough? Does He have no purpose for me? Has God forsaken me?" The problem lies in our definition of "good". We can never take Scripture ou...

I've been thinking a lot about changes lately, perhaps because of all the historical novels I've been reading. Some changes are easily accepted by the vast majority of us—like indoor plumbing and refrigeration. Some are more difficult to assimilate into our daily lives. It doesn't seem like that many years ago that I advised someone struggling with finances to give up the cell phone because it wasn't a necessity. Funny how it no longer appears to be the luxury it once was. Speaking of cell phones... Technology has brought rapid change to our lives. Just sitting here at a computer, typing away on a blog, is something I would never have dreamed of thirty years ago. Even the idea of a personal computer was unheard of when Bob and I were married almost 45 years ago. And smart phones? Other changes have come slowly, gradually. Like clothing. My grandmothers wore house dresses, although my Grandma Wallace did buy one pair of jeans for gardening. I remember how surprising ...