A Fly in the Ointment

It always seems that there is a fly in the ointment.  Look long enough and something shows up that you would rather not see.  It even happens in Romans 8:28 which says "We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose."  The fly in the ointment is in those words which speak of God working for good in the lives of those who love Him.  Does Romans 8:28 only apply to those who love God?  Does He choose not to work for good in the lives of those who do not love Him and who do not embrace His purpose for their lives?  Is there an exclusion here which puts some out there to fend for themselves as best they can?    

I would rather not raise the question.  It is too troubling a possibility.  Perhaps, the direction the passage draws us it toward an understanding that only those who love God will look to Him as the One who is the Giver of good things even in the midst of adversity.  Others might think of it as some punishment or discipline being given by God for choices which did not take into account His will.  And, of course, there would also be those who would see misfortune and difficulties as the product of the random wheel that spins in the universe that spills out bad without any apparent reason.    

The very first words, "We know" speak of a conviction about God.  It speaks about a trust that all of life is in the hands of the One who put it into motion at the moment of conception.  It speaks of one who has come to understand and know God in such a way that there is no viable alternative to Him working on our behalf for our good.  For them Him doing otherwise would be in contradiction to His nature.  This core belief brings the sufferer to a far different conclusion than the one who sees life as a thing determined by random chance.  The one who loves God first and foremost is likely to see God in a different way than the one who lives, but without any love for God or gratitude for what He is doing.