Romans 8: Overly Quoted and Misused

I feel that, out of all of Romans, I am the most familiar with this chapter. It seems like, when tragedy strikes, people like to quote this chapter the most, specifically verse 28. I don't necessarily want to get into the debate of why exactly bad things happen to good people, or how that works, but I've blogged about that before, and you can read it here.

What stood out to me more than the idea of God working out all things for good was what Paul says about trying to conquer the world and sin on our own. In the Message, verses 5-8 really paint an accurate picture:

5-8" Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God's action in them find that God's Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn't pleased at being ignored."

I had a friend ask me not too long ago why it is so important to be a Christian. This person observed that there are people all over who don't believe in Jesus, and they seem extremely happy. My response to that is, sure. It's possible to be happy without Christ (gasp from all the Southern Baptists). It is. People who aren't Christians don't walk around miserable all the time. The difference, to illustrate from the tattoo on my wrist, is HOPE.



When we live for ourselves, and we let ourselves down, and life happens, and things fall apart, where do we go from there? Without the hope that Christ is my comforter, my peace, my provider and my rock, I cannot stand. Without the idea that this life is not all that there is, I cannot withstand the suffering of this world. Without Him, I am forced to rely on myself and others, both of which are weak and inconstant. It is Jesus that provides us with a future, an "out." No matter how bad life is on earth, it is nothing compared to what eternity looks like without Christ. No matter how wonderful this world seems on our own, it's nothing compared to the riches and beauty that await the believer in heaven.

Earth: storm. Heaven: DOUBLE RAINBOW. ALL THE WAY. (if you haven't seen the youtube video, google it NOW).