Saturday, January 18, 2014
My Love and Hate for Romans 8:28
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28. The go-to verse in the midst of suffering. The class favorite of scripture memory. The crowning jewel of Calvinist theology. The verse that when offered up as an anitdote to my problems makes me want to scream "Stop it! Stop it! Don't you dare go there right now!"
Wait, what??! I know, hard to believe, right? Me, the girl who spent 9 months of her college career as the poster child of cage stage, John Piper's #1 fan girl saying "No, I don't want to hear it. Don't even start that Romans 8:28 stuff with me."
Of course, I've never actually rebuked anyone for quoting that verse to me (at least not out loud). But in my heart, I've felt bitter and hard against what I would still consider one of my favorite verses in all of Holy Scripture. You see, sometimes I'm so upset and so bitter and so anxious about my circumstances that I do really stupid things like sinfully shrug off the word of God as, "cliche," "over quoted," or "just not what need to hear right now."
The question becomes of course, what do I need to hear right now? What does the mother of two who is diagnosed with incurable cancer need to hear right now? What does the missionary family fighting to bring their newly adopted daughter into the country with them need to hear right now?
They (and I) all need to hear Romans 8:28.
The trick is to realize what the "good" in Romans 8:28 is actually talking about. So many times the reason I'm frustrated by this verse is because (to my fallen, finite eyes) nothing about the situation seems to be working for anything remotely "good." How is the death of two young boys' mother possibly for some greater good? How is the bankruptcy of a single parent doing all he or she can to provide even close to good? Though I know the Word of God is true, in those moments I struggle to go the extra step and believe it's true.
Enter context. The "good" of Romans 8:28 cannot be divorced from the rest of the passage. And so we read,
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.-Romans 8:28-29 (emphasis mine)
The "for" at the beginning of verse 29 is very important. It means that verse 29 is the grounds on which verse 28 is true. So the reason we can say all things work together for good is because those who love God are being conformed to the image of his son, Jesus. This is good. The Good, if you will. All things are making the children of God more and more like their brother- Jesus. Once you start viewing all things with this good in mind, it starts to make a little more sense. We can see how the trials of this life are indeed perfecting us (James 1:2-4) and how our inner nature is being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16). We're being made more like Jesus.
This is why I need the Spirit to not only grant me new birth and give me a new heart (John 3:5, Ezekiel 11:19), but I also need him to empower me day by day to love God and His gospel and His kingdom more than my life (Psalm 63:3). Being made into the likeness of Christ is not desirable to the unbeliever. But for those who love God, it's the most desirable thing there is. It is eternal life.
And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.-John 17:3
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.-2 Corinthians 3:18
I'm not saying that reciting Romans 8:28 (or any scripture for that matter) will all of a sudden bring great clarity, peace, and warm fuzzies inside no matter the situation. But His promises are true, and they are sweet. God is making us more like His Son and in doing so, bringing me (and you) one step closer to where we all long to be - home.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." -Revelation 21:4-5
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Things I've Learned My 1st Month of Motherhood
Why, hello! Welcome to the humble beginnings of our family blog. Ideally all of the pages and menu navigation items would be written, proof read, and ready for the world to see... but they aren't. This little project is a work in progress. Despite that fact, I really wanted to write this post, so here you have it. Perhaps one day I'll have some motivation to write about my water breaking at my baby shower, our 2 week stint in the NICU, and a whole host of other recap items, but not tonight. Tonight, this will have to do.
I can't believe it's already been a month since Silas was born. He's only been home with us for 2 weeks, so in my mind he's still a 2-week old (and his weight only adds to my internal confusion...he's currently at 5 lbs 12oz). Yet, here he is in all his one month glory. It's been a whirlwind of 4 weeks, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I mean... look at this stud!
To commemorate this one month milestone, I decided to make a brief list of things I've learned during my first month of motherhood. There's more, but these things stand out the most in my mind. In no particular order...
1. I will never be entirely clean for more than a few minutes.
2. My baby will never be entirely clean for more than a few minutes.
3. I don't have enough swaddle blankets or burp cloths, and I probably never will.
4. During the day, I really should sleep when baby sleeps. I haven't learned to do this yet.
5. Dr. Harvey Karp's "5 S's" are magical. Truly, magical.
6. The first few weeks, my job is to keep baby happy and healthy mostly by feeding him. When nursing, this entails far more than one might think. It can be very tiring, frustrating, and even boring, but it's a season, and I'm called to be faithful in it. (And it really does get better.)
7. I am now "that mom" who wants to show off every picture of every sweet moment her child has to the rest of the world, even though I swore up and down I would never do that. Believe it or not, I have restrained myself, but the struggle is real and somewhat unexplainable. The mom gene really does just kick on.
8. Taking meals to families with newborns really is clutch. I had no idea how big of a help this would be, but we have been incredibly blessed the past month to have so many meals provided for us. I'm stoked to do this for other families in the future.
9. The love between a mother and her child is completely different than any other relationship. That's not to say I love Silas more than my husband, I'm just saying the love is indescribably different.
10. Speaking of love, you need to love your pediatrician. We love ours and that is huge.
11. Cloth diapering is fun (for real)!
12. Vowing not to use a pacifier was a very unrealistic goal (at least for me). Sometimes babies just want to suck when they aren't hungry, and it's really not a big deal.
13. Asking people to use hand sanitizer before they touch/hold your baby is not rude. It's best for baby and totally worth the peace of mind.
14. My husband is not only an amazing husband but an amazing dad. There's nothing like watching him and Silas interact. My heart is always full.
15. The gospel comes alive in completely unique way when you have a child. One of my recent(ish) Facebook statuses was this: "The more I look at, hold close, and pray over Silas, the more I love him. And the more I love him, the more overcome I am with the fact that God gave up his only Son, making him who knew no sin to be sin that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Parent or not, let that sink in."
There you have it - a few of the things I've learned (and embraced) since our sweet little man came into the world. All the hard stuff is worth it. So completely and utterly worth it.
I can't believe it's already been a month since Silas was born. He's only been home with us for 2 weeks, so in my mind he's still a 2-week old (and his weight only adds to my internal confusion...he's currently at 5 lbs 12oz). Yet, here he is in all his one month glory. It's been a whirlwind of 4 weeks, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I mean... look at this stud!
1. I will never be entirely clean for more than a few minutes.
2. My baby will never be entirely clean for more than a few minutes.
3. I don't have enough swaddle blankets or burp cloths, and I probably never will.
4. During the day, I really should sleep when baby sleeps. I haven't learned to do this yet.
5. Dr. Harvey Karp's "5 S's" are magical. Truly, magical.
6. The first few weeks, my job is to keep baby happy and healthy mostly by feeding him. When nursing, this entails far more than one might think. It can be very tiring, frustrating, and even boring, but it's a season, and I'm called to be faithful in it. (And it really does get better.)
7. I am now "that mom" who wants to show off every picture of every sweet moment her child has to the rest of the world, even though I swore up and down I would never do that. Believe it or not, I have restrained myself, but the struggle is real and somewhat unexplainable. The mom gene really does just kick on.
8. Taking meals to families with newborns really is clutch. I had no idea how big of a help this would be, but we have been incredibly blessed the past month to have so many meals provided for us. I'm stoked to do this for other families in the future.
9. The love between a mother and her child is completely different than any other relationship. That's not to say I love Silas more than my husband, I'm just saying the love is indescribably different.
10. Speaking of love, you need to love your pediatrician. We love ours and that is huge.
11. Cloth diapering is fun (for real)!
12. Vowing not to use a pacifier was a very unrealistic goal (at least for me). Sometimes babies just want to suck when they aren't hungry, and it's really not a big deal.
13. Asking people to use hand sanitizer before they touch/hold your baby is not rude. It's best for baby and totally worth the peace of mind.
14. My husband is not only an amazing husband but an amazing dad. There's nothing like watching him and Silas interact. My heart is always full.
15. The gospel comes alive in completely unique way when you have a child. One of my recent(ish) Facebook statuses was this: "The more I look at, hold close, and pray over Silas, the more I love him. And the more I love him, the more overcome I am with the fact that God gave up his only Son, making him who knew no sin to be sin that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Parent or not, let that sink in."
There you have it - a few of the things I've learned (and embraced) since our sweet little man came into the world. All the hard stuff is worth it. So completely and utterly worth it.
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