“So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.” (Mark 10:18 NKJV). Only God is inherently and utterly good. He is the source, substance, and sum of all goodness. Jesus was not denying His goodness here, but affirming His deity. If He is good, then He is God, for only God is good.
• Demonstrated in Creation. In the Genesis 1 record, we find God fashioning the world and at the end of each creative day declaring His handiwork “good,” until day 6, and the completion of it all with the pinnacle of His creation—man made in His image—and pronouncing it all, “very good.”
What else could a good God do but good and very good? We see even in a fallen world that it can be breathtakingly beautiful—a golden sunrise and a blazing sunset; a majestic mountain and a verdant valley; a lovely lily and a beautiful butterfly—and on we could go. God gave us eyes to see in color, a mind to comprehend what we see, ears to hear a baby’s laugh and fingers to touch their soft skin. God could have made everything gray and made all food taste like gruel—but chose to demonstrate His goodness in creation.
• Demonstrated in Redemption. In Creation, God exhaled a breath, but in redemption, He expended His blood. He was not content to leave us in our sin, but His goodness sent His Son and sought us out. His goodness demanded punishment on the guilty. A good judge does not let a criminal off. Instead, our good God enforced that good justice by pouring out His wrath on the Son of God—and our good Savior was willing to suffer in our place. The good Holy Spirit sought you out. What good was there in you to commend you to God? None! The good was all His!
• Demonstrated in Providence. “Divine providence is the governance of God by which He, with wisdom and love, cares for and directs all things in the universe. The doctrine of divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things.” (www.gotquestions.org) Study the story of Joseph in Gen.37-50 and you will see God’s providence in bringing Joseph from the pit to the palace, from ruin to reign, and from suffering to glory. Here is the New Testament phrasing of this truth, “And we know that all things work together for GOOD to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Rom.8:28, emphasis added).
God, you are so very good!
No comments:
Post a Comment