Good
No one is good but One, that is, God. Mark 10:18
God is good.
I believe this wholeheartedly, but as my son, David said, ”There’s a lot of prequel to ‘God is good.’” Bang on, baby.
The Psalms are replete with the goodness of God. “You are good, abounding in love,” “ Taste and see that the LORD is good,” “You are good and your love endures forever.” And a good God does good things. Sometimes I wonder if I’m just unaware of what is actually good. Is my idea of good so terribly off? In my mind, “good” is summer days and autumn leaves, blue skies and Honeycrisp apples. Are these good? Sure seems like they are.
But those are the things that reflect God and His goodness. They are not God.
Of course, we often associate a good God with good things.
Prayer answered in the way we hoped. God is good.
The rain held off for the wedding. God is good.
My son died of colon cancer. God is good.
Wait a minute.
“God is good” needs to be spoken gently in those situations. Is it true God is good when your child dies? Yes. But do you often hear people (gently) say that in prayer groups or classes when that happens? No. Because in our mind:
Good is healthy. Good is strength. Good is marriage vows.
And struggle. Good is struggling against temptation to walk away. Good is struggling to genuinely love and care for a depressed adult child. Good is struggling to see or at least sense God in the darkest moments of your life! God is good in it all.
It seems, as in the case of “God is faithful”, we conflate the experiences of this life with the person of God. And they are not the same. But, you may wonder, how can I ever know a “good, good Father” apart from the things that Father does? When things are not good, take it in. Gently remind yourself despite what you currently experience, God is still wholly good, that in Him is zero darkness, only light (1 John 1:5). And gently remind yourself of the abundance of perceived good that surrounds you this very moment. These good things reflect a very good God.
I’m real because God is real. ~ Nancy