God is good, all the time! We readily affirm this to be true whenever good things happen to us, but what about when our circumstances aren’t so good? Is God still good? The answer is “yes.”
The significance of God’s goodness is that He is always good, even when what’s happening to me or those I love is NOT good at all.
And the proof of God’s goodness is not that everything in my life is rosy, but that despite the difficulties and challenges and troubles and griefs of this life, God is determined to use them for my greatest good.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” - Romans 8:28 (NIV)
Of course, if God is going to be free to bring about good to me, even in the midst of things that cannot possibly ever be declared to be good at all, we, as God’s children, need to be focused on our love relationship with Him and surrendered to His will for our lives.
“God is always trying to give good things to us, but our hands are too full to receive them.” - Augustine
But when our hearts are not focused on pleasing ourselves, but on knowing God more intimately and pleasing Him only, then we are in a position to recognize that He is indeed, a good God.
That our God is good is a fact. And Jesus tells us two things about this amazing fact concerning God’s goodness. That our God is good means:
1. He is different than this world - vs. 9-11
A. God is genuinely good - vs. 9-10
Jesus describes here a “bait and switch.” Our good God doesn’t do that.
A bait and switch is a tactic used to trick consumers into buying something other than what was advertised. A man sees an ad for $1 orange juice at a local store. When he goes, he finds out the juice isn’t in stock and the store’s only offering another brand for $4.
The idea is to do whatever it takes to get people in the store. The $1 orange juice is the bait. The switch occurs when the customer finds the advertised item isn’t available but a similar one is, but at a higher price.
Now, this practice is illegal in our country. However, as far as this world is concerned, people are constantly being deceived by the “bait and switch” approach. Even Christians. The world always presents itself as something good. “Look at me,” the world says. “Wouldn’t you like to know me better?” “Join in with me, and you’ll have fun, love, friends - fill in the blank.” But when lives for the things of this world, they always discover the promises are empty and the price is high. The world’s promises always come up short and never satisfy.
But not so with our good God. He doesn’t bait and switch. Christ always made it clear that there is a price to pay in order to follow Him, but that price was also accompanied with a tremendous promise.
Regarding the price we must pay to follow Jesus, Randy Alcorn says:
“Following Jesus is more than nodding a head, raising a hand, signing a card, or repeating a prayer - though someone coming to Christ can do any of those. Following Jesus is not returning to life as usual, the only difference being that we’re now going to Heaven. Following Jesus is abandoning trust in ourselves, surrendering all we are and have to Him. This, and nothing less, is discipleship.” – Randy Alcorn
But also told us that whatever price we might have to pay in order to follow Him will be more than worth it in light of all He promises us.
“Peter said to him, ‘We have left everything to follow you!’ ‘I tell you the truth,’ Jesus replied, ‘no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in the present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields - and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.” - Mark 10:28-30 (NIV)
What are we promised if we pay the price to follow Christ?
1) We have a personal relationship with God (Matt. 11:28-30);
2) We have access to the practical wisdom of God (2 Tim. 3:16-17);
3) We have access to the perpetual forgiveness of God (1 John 1:9);
4) We have access to the powerful strength of God (1 Thess. 5:24);
5) We benefit from the providential working of God (Phil. 1:6);
6) We benefit from the protective guidance of God (Prov. 3:5-6);
7) We benefit from the peaceful presence of God (Phil. 4:6-7);
8) We will know the eternal glory of God (Rev. 7:9).
Acres of diamonds, mountains of gold, rivers of silver, jewels untold: all these together wouldn’t buy you or me peace when we’re sleeping or a conscience that’s free; a heart that’s contented, a satisfied mind: these are the treasures money can’t buy. If you have Jesus, there’s more wealth in your soul than acres of diamonds and mountains of gold. - Acres of Diamonds (George Beverly Shea)
B. God is wisely good - vs. 7-8; 11
Jesus says there’ll never be a moment when we won’t need to call out to God. We’ll always need His provision, protection, direction, wisdom and blessing. And the main motivation to live our lives always looking to God is because God is good. That’s the point of verse 11.
Again, this makes us think of Romans 8:28. If God is going to be free to make everything work together for good in my life, I must focus on my love relationship with Him and surrender to His purpose for my life. Which means I’ll constantly look to Him as Jesus describes.
A good parent has enough sense to know what’s best for their child; and so does God. The world thinks what’s good is my always having things I want. But God knows that what is good is having things I need.
I like what Rick Warren says it in the 40 Days of Prayer study.
Sometimes God says “No;” sometimes God says “Go;” sometimes God says “Slow;” and sometimes God says “Grow.” - Rick Warren
Like any good parent, our heavenly Father knows what is best for us.
George Mueller is considered one the greatest men of prayer and faith since the days of the Apostles. He’s best known today for his orphanages. In that time in England, orphans lived in workhouses or the streets. Mueller took them in, fed, clothed, and educated them. Through his orphanage in Bristol, he cared for as many as 2,000 orphans at a time - more than 10,000 in his lifetime. Muller never made ministry needs known to anyone except to God in prayer. Only through his annual reports did people learn what the needs had been and how God provided. Mueller had over 50,000 specific recorded answers to prayers in his journals, thirty thousand of which he said were answered the same day or the same hour he prayed them. That’s 500 definite answers to prayer each year - more than one per day - every day for 60 years! God funneled over half a billion dollars (in today’s dollars) through his hands in answer to prayer.
But Muller did not always have God say “yes” to his prayers. And by this, he learned by experience how wisely good God is.
“Our heavenly Father never takes anything from his children unless he means to give them something better.” - George Muller
That our God is good means:
2. We should be different in this world - v. 12
In is interesting how Jesus applies this truth that our God is good to our lives as His followers. He tells us that since our God is good toward us, we should be good toward others. In the last words Jesus uses here, we are reminded of what He said about the Greatest Commandment:
“Jesus replied, ‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” - Matthew 22:37-40 (NLT)
Loving God with all my heart, mind and soul is, in part, what Jesus is describing when He speaks to us about the goodness of God. For, as our Lord makes clear, if we are going to benefit from the goodness of our God we will constantly be looking to Him as described in verses 7 and 8. And if we are looking to our God in this way, prioritizing our love relationship with Him and surrendered to His good purpose for our lives, it will be reflected in how we relate to others. We will love our neighbor as we love ourselves - we will do to others what we would have them do to us. How do we know how we want others to treat us? By the way our good God treats us. How does He treat us?
“Love never stops being patient, never stops believing, never stops hoping, never gives up.” - 1 Corinthians 13:7 (God’s Word)
“If We Love God Most, We Will Love Others Best.” - John Piper
How can I learn to love others best? By looking to and learning from my good God.
