All Things!

TEXT:

‘For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen’ – Romans 11:36

THOUGHT:

When God says, “All things,” He means, “All!” When reading Romans Chapter 8 recently, my attention was drawn to this phrase, “All things” which appears three times. These form the basis for Today’s Teaching.

• All things work together for good – v28

There are two provisos to this promise, lest people should think that just anyone is included in this statement.

Firstly, it is for those who love God. Not just those with a belief in God, but those with a love for the one true God. Love can be inclusive, ‘For God so loved the world.’ ¹ But it also can be exclusive, as the marriage vows indicate. “Will you love … forsaking all other?” Some wrongly assert that they can love God but include other gods as well. God is a jealous God and it grieves Him if you try to place others alongside Him.

Secondly, it is for those who are the called according to His purpose. Jonah loved God and had been called to go to Nineveh to warn them of impending judgment. When he chose to disobey that call and head off in the opposite direction to Tarshish, he certainly found out that all things did not work together for good. In fact the opposite happened, so much so that it almost cost him his life and everyone else’s in the ship. So with love comes obedience and through these two God will work all things together and ensure that it ultimately works out for the best.

• Freely gives us all things – v32

This verse echoes Jesus’ teaching, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you.’ ² Do not make “getting” your priority. Instead concentrate on “seeking.” Consider Solomon. He ended up being given what he had never asked for because he wanted wisdom to correctly rule over Israel. ³ Many Christians have had experiences of a similar nature when God has brought blessing into their lives. Seeking God first and the right way of going about it resulted in unexpected and unrequested blessings.

Some wonder, “Can I ask God for that?”  Or, “Does God really want to answer my prayer?” The answer is found in this promise. If God has given to you His Son, the greatest gift of all, how can He even consider withholding the lesser gifts such as healing and providing for the things we need day by day?

• Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors – v37

Christians are in warfare against the schemings of the devil, against principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this age, and spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ⁴ There will always be casualties yet even in this; death is gain for the Christian. Sometimes a conqueror is acutely aware of the great loss involved in achieving even a small gain, as was so evident in the two world wars. Yet the Bible says we are more than conquerors, for nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Death is not the end for the Christian but just the doorway into something far more wonderful than anyone could imagine. Thank God that one day we shall be re-united with those casualties in heaven.

As we celebrate Easter, the Book of Romans reminds us of some more “All’s.”

• All have sinned – 3:23
• All can be saved if they will believe and call on the name of the Lord – 3:22, 10:12

The opportunity is there for everyone. The choice is ours. In the midst of any gifts you may receive – chocolate eggs, flowers etc., do not forget to say thank you for the greatest gift God has given to our world – His Son Jesus Christ.

1 – John 3:16       2 – Matthew 6:33      3 – 1 Kings 3:3-14     4 – Ephesians 6:11-12