God's Priority

Paul's letter to the Romans is a fascinating one. Long considered "The Gospel Manifesto", I hold the view that it is difficult, if not impossible, to live the Christian life in its fullness without having a basic understanding of it. If you have not read this book in its entirety, I encourage you to do so for an insight into the awesomeness of God's grace, and our exalted position in Christ. Nestled in Chapter 8 are two verses that I believe, next to our salvation, point to God's priority regarding His children: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren" (vv. 28, 29).

Most of us have struggled with verse 28, but since Paul wrote it under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, then we have to be comforted by it even if we don't understand it. The book of Job helps us to understand that things that happen to the children of God are sovereignly allowed by Him, and Paul reaffirms that the good, bad, and indifferent things all work for our good, according to the purposes of God. But just exactly what is that purpose? The answer we find in the next verse, especially in the words, "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son". I quite like Matthew Henry's concise commentary on this portion of the text: "Here is the order of the causes of our salvation, a golden chain, one which cannot be broken. 1. Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son. All that God designed for glory and happiness as the end, he decreed to grace and holiness as the way. The whole human race deserved destruction; but for reasons not perfectly known to us, God determined to recover some by regeneration and the power of his grace. He predestinated, or before decreed, that they should be conformed to the image of his Son. In this life they are in part renewed, and walk in his steps."

Renewed and walking in his [Christ's] steps. That is God's priority for us. Some may ask: "What about our day to day existence?"; "Doesn't God care if we can pay our bills or not, or if we have somewhere to live?" To all those questions we answer with a resounding "Yes, He does care!" Jesus made that clear when said our Heavenly Father knows we have need of those things, but He emphasized the priority was not those material things but rather to seek first the kingdom of God; once we got that right, then the rest of things would be added (Matthew 6:25-33).

God's priority is not our immediate material comfort, but rather that we become conformed [similar, identical] to the image of Christ. Are you cooperating with Him toward that end?