Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

• Romans 8:28

Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.

• Romans 15:2

“God’s will is determined by His wisdom which always perceives, and His goodness which always embraces, the intrinsically good.”

• C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

C.S. Lewis makes the quote from his book on pain.  He gives a rather cogent argument on the question many atheists have: “If God is good, why is there evil and suffering and pain in the world?”  I say that it is a cogent argument.  I have read reviews by atheists who say that it is the same old unconvincing arguments that have been used before.  They also say that C.S. Lewis could never have been an atheist.  But then, that proves their own close-minded attitude.  Proof what the Bible says that to a non-believer the ways of God are foolishness.  To be so convinced that an atheist could never become a Christian means that any argument, no matter how perfectly made, would never be more than nonsense to someone whose mind is closed on the matter.

My mind is closed in the opposite direction because God lives within me.  But who lives within the atheist who refuses to listen?

But I digress, but only a little.

The “good,” that is mentioned in Romans 8, may not feel good at the time.  It may be very painful, but it may be the pain that prevents us from making an even greater blunder.  Here is another C.S. Lewis quote from the same book.

“Pain plants the flag of truth within a rebel fortress.”

• C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

So, the flag of truth is planted, and that flag of truth is good for the person in pain, but the experience is not very much fun at the time.

But it does become good once you learned the lesson God wanted you to learn.  Was it trust God more?  Was it wait until God shows you the way?  Was it simply that sometimes life hurts, and we who believe have a very big shoulder to cry on.  We are never alone.

But the finished product is someone who can handle greater adversity and rely on God in everything.  And the benefit is being closer to God at the same time.  Yes, it all works out for the good, and as Romans 15 says, then it is our turn to pay it forward, as the saying goes.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.