Good or bad?

I listened to a Tim Keller sermon the other night that was really eye opening. How many times has someone called Keller's sermons eye opening? Guess I'm just one in a million! :)

Anyway, it was on Romans 8:28 which has always been a comforting verse for me. But I realized as Keller talked about it that it comforted me for the wrong reasons. When I read "all things work together for good to those who love God" I get this false idea that because I love God, nothing truly bad can happen to me. However, this is not true; for my idea of "good" and "bad" is different than God's perception. What I've realized is that God has a vantage point that neither I nor any other human will ever be able to experience. 

A lot of people, including myself before hearing this sermon, seem to have this idea that because we love God, we have this protective ring around us that spares us from any harm. The bible says NOTHING like that. In fact, it says the opposite. Matthew 24:9 says: "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me." So not only does Jesus assure us that we will undergo persecution, but He also declares that it will be because of His name. Also, James 1:2 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds." Once again, believers in Christ experience hardships. Though I've obviously always knew that, this next part never really clicked.

These trials, hardships, difficulties, roadblocks, whatever you want to call the times in your life when you just want to throw the towel in and give up are GOOD. In the midst of them I forget why they're there. Everywhere I go, everyone I meet, every temptation I face has a purpose. Whether that purpose is "good" in my eyes or not, I must recognize that unachievable vantage point that God has. I've always thought of these things as bad, but eventually God will put something good into my life. But in reality, they are good. 

This raises a question though. Is God still just? The simple answer is obvious: yes, of course. But how can these seemingly bad things happen to us and be considered good by a supposedly just God? In order to answer that we must look at Jesus. If you look at the cross and the perfect display of love that exists there, can you contradict God's justice? Can you truly think that the God that sacrificed his Son also commit unjust acts against you? Think about it.