From Lost to Loved: A 30-Day Study of Romans 8ಮಾದರಿ

Growing up in church, I learned that people show up for many reasons. Some come to worship Christ. Others come with motives that crowd out true worship: parental pressure, dating, entertainment, or a self-help fix. Attendance is not allegiance. I’ve since realized the same is true of Bible reading. Not everyone comes to Scripture to meet with Christ.

Romans 8:28 exposes our lens for reading Scripture. How we define “good” reveals whether we are chasing comfort, self-affirmation, or conformity to Christ. Paul does not leave “good” vague; verses 29–30 define it. God works all things with this end in view: that those who love him will be “conformed.” Paul uses the Greek word symmorphos, meaning shaped into the image of the Son. He sketches the sweep of God’s saving work: foreknown, predestined, called, justified, and glorified. God’s primary purpose is not easier circumstances; it’s Christlikeness. If your idea of “good” collapses under suffering, it’s not the good Paul is talking about.

The path to God’s “good” will wound you before it crowns you.

Paul’s word for “conformed” is part of a cluster of terms he uses throughout his letters that describe union with Christ. In Greek, many of them share the same prefix συν (syn), meaning “with” or “together.” They carry a visible and audible connection in the original language that is less obvious in English. Words like co-crucified, co-buried, co-raised, co-suffering, and co-glorified reveal this pattern. Together they show the shape of life with Christ: the cross before the crown.

To be conformed to Christ means crucifying the flesh, burying the old self, and enduring real suffering as God reshapes our loves. The promise of Romans 8:28 fits in this pattern. It is not a blanket statement for humanity. It belongs to those who “love God” and “are called according to His purpose,” because only they will walk this narrow way with Him to its end. If you are outside of Christ, turn to Him in faith today. Only in Him will you find the “good” that suffering cannot destroy.

The path God sets before us is not for the faint-hearted. Romans 8:13 charges believers to put sin to death by the power of the Spirit. There is no neutral ground. Comfort is a slow death. It kills your hunger for God before you even realize it. To be conformed into the image of Christ will cost you everything. But the crown is certain because the God who called you finishes what He starts.

REFLECT:
If God’s “good” means a cross before a crown, where are you resisting Him right now?