A Righteous Reality: "The Working of Our Good" in Context

Today we continue our pursuit of Romans 8, coming upon one of our favorite verses, Romans 8:28 - "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." 

Verse 28 is one that we as Christians often like to put on mugs and T-shirts and wall art without fully understanding the scriptural context that it is anchored in. How do we process and digest and celebrate this verse without misrepresenting the challenges and hardships and suffering that is still intrinsic to our faith and our life in a broken world? And what does it really mean for us? For the Church? For those that we are seeking to give an accurate picture of what Christianity is, and what it means to follow God?