Bad becomes good???

I was talking with a friend today in the Meetinghouse. She is struggling with the empty nest syndrome. Her daughter graduated from High School this month, leaves for a summer long mission experience and then is off to college. This is major emotional hurt for a parent to handle. I know ... I've been there, done that, and got the tee shirt to prove it, as they say.

However, when I reflect upon the definition of the Kingdom of God as "God's work throughout all of creation" then can there really be any bad experiences in life? Romans 8:28-29 says that "God is using all things...to conform us into the image of Jesus Christ." We humans have a tendency to judge the circumstances of life as either "good or bad" based upon how we see it impacting us. But, if the circumstance, no matter how pain-filled it may be, is a part of God's "all things" then can it really be bad?

The key is probably surrendering "all things" over to Jesus. He is Lord and there should me no limitation to the claim He has over our life. If "all things" belong to God then there is no secular or sacred task or good or bad experience. All things are holy unto the Lord.

According to Romans 12:1-3 this is true holiness. The offering of our whole lives back to God through Jesus. It is taking all the elements that make up our human life (family, friends, money, work, possessions, success, failure, pain, loss, etc.) and giving them back to God for His glory and use, so to speak. By so doing the seemingly bad things in life then can be viewed as good.

Thanks for stopping by!
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Adrian