He’s winning

The paradox of the cross: He’s winning.

No, Jesus looks like He’s losing. The world wants to hook up with a winner. Things aren’t currently looking good for the Nazarene carpenter. But there’s your God Glimpse. The Suffering Servant is en route to His victory and makes possible our victory.

The paradox of persecution: We’re winning

The books of Revelation, James, and I & II Peter were written to drive home this point: in persecution, we appear to be losing, but these books promise victory both now and in heaven.

God meant it for good

His bros meant it for evil

Joseph, now Ruler of Egypt, says to his brothers who had thrown him into a pit and sold him into slavery. “And as for you, you meant it for evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result.”  Genesis  50:20

When Joseph’s brothers “meant evil” against him, they never expected to see him again. Joseph ended up in prison in a foreign land. How could anything good come out of that?  In like manner, we can look at the cross. How many knew that Jesus was triumphing over Satan, sin, and all His enemies on the cross? From a worldly point of view, It would seem ludicrous to declare Jesus the winner while His blood was draining from His body.  But from God’s perspective, all was going according to a victorious plan.

God “works all things together for good” (Romans 8:28). That means that He spends a lot of time cleaning up our messes, bringing good from what some mean for evil. But Heaven is a place where there is no evil, and there are no messes to clean up. We’ve seen God do miracles and bring good in this fallen world. What must Heaven be like, a place where God is lavishing love and blessings eternally, making all things new, hosting a continuous feast, enjoying harmony in His family, and calling all that He has made “good” once again?

“No worries, bros. God is just Romans8and28ing!”