What Good is This?

And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

Gold basically becomes gold in two ways: melting and crushing.

Scrap gold, such as bits of old jewelry, must first be tested to assess its quality and determine how much of it is gold and how much is other elements. In this process, the gold is placed in a crucible, where the melting begins. The temperature required to melt scrap gold is 1947 degrees or higher, depending on the alloys it contains. Upon melting, the metals separate from one another, and the gold sinks to the bottom. The other impurities are left behind.

The refiner must then take several other steps to cool it, melt it again, and subject it to acids, which will purify it further before attaining its purest state.

Raw gold, on the other hand, must be found first. Long gone is the Gold Rush, and today geologists use precise instruments to identify areas across the earth likely to produce gold deposits. Once they find a promising area, they begin testing and taking rock samples. If they find gold, they must then determine if it is high-quality through more testing. Ultimately, they begin mining it in the form of ore. Once the ore is extracted from the earth, it is crushed.

After crushing, the refining process begins, and the gold is melted to remove impurities.

The process of taking scraps or raw ore and making them into pure gold is long and grueling. But all who enjoy the beauty and benefits of gold would agree the process and patience are worth it.

If the scrap heap, melting at 2000 degrees, could speak to us, it might cry out that no good could possibly come from losing its former shape and identity, from a process that separates its very essence into something new.

If the ore, content in the depths of the mountain, could speak to us as the drills begin to pierce, the dynamite explodes its protective walls, and machines begin to crush, the raw ore might beg to remain hidden, stable in the silence of the earth.

What good is this that comes from melting, crushing?

For those who suffer, the promise of Romans 8:28 can appear a mockery. An unrealistic platitude that doesn’t really understand pain.

What good is this, exactly?

What good is this that would compel the God who fashioned the crevices of the Alps, the sands of the Sahara, the blue of the Mediterranean Sea, to work for me? #Romans828 Click To Tweet

Like the ore worth finding deep in the earth, Romans 8:28 deserves a closer look. What appears to be rough-hewn wisdom for the strong is really a message of hope for the weak.

It holds a treasure, pure gold. There is a secret here, one that may remain hidden when passed quickly through our hands to the hurting, a formula expected to silence the sobbing, quiet the questions, and straighten up the crooked.

The good He works for, toiled and died for, is no mere platitude. It has a purpose, and herein lies the gold.

To understand the good of Romans 8:28, we must take a look at verse 29. 

Because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

Like scraps melted, ore crushed, our purpose is transformation. In the crushing, in the melting, we are refined. In the hands of the Refiner, we are conformed to the image of Jesus.

This is the good God works for in you and in me, in the circumstances that are crushing us. The fires that are melting our best-laid plans. The loss of control that is dissolving the security we once depended on. The trauma that is pulverizing us.

Jerry Bridges, in his small and mighty book Trusting God, states it this way: 

“The good that God works for in our lives is conformity to the likeness of His Son. It is not necessarily comfort or happiness but conformity to Christ in ever-increasing measure in this life and in its fulness in eternity.”

I guess the question, then, is rather: “What good do I truly want?”

If your answer is “to be made like Jesus,” then lean into the crushing today, friend. Submit to the heat of your circumstances and entrust yourself to the skilled hands of the Master Refiner.

This good, conformity to the image of Jesus, is eternal. I will never take it from us, never spoil, never tarnish. This good will last even beyond the day we finally walk the streets of gold.

Lord, I want Your good. I accept the crushing, the melting. Conform me into the image of Your Son. Amen.

@audreycfrank