Another Look at An Old Friend

 “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.”

— St. Paul, Romans 8:28

File under I can do all things through a Bible verse ripped out of context, right?

Maybe. Maybe not.

As Julie Andrews sang to however many generations by now, “Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.”

And the first word of Romans 8:28 is “And.”

Wait.

Let’s reach over and grab a slight adaptation of a Bible study tip someone told me a long time ago: when you come to a verse that starts with “Therefore,” it’s always a good idea to check and see “what the Therefore is there for.”

We might well call that, more formally, contextualizing.

Applying that to the first word of Romans 8:28, what conclusion to do you draw?

And yes, I hope you’ll look up and check out what comes before Romans 8:28 before answering….