I’m a little fired up on this one. Mainly because God has been faithfully peeling back more of my heart’s layers, opening my eyes to some underlying wayward thinking that seems to slime its way into my mind when I’m not looking.
And it can all be summarized with this one little question: what is good?
No, really. What do you consider “good”? If you’re like me then your initial answer is something like, “Well it’s good if it makes me feel good.” Am I right? Life is good if it goes my way or if I get enough sleep or if the bakery has my favorite pumpkin cupcake or if these little people I’m supposed to train up would do what I freakin’ say already.
Those are good things. I like every last crumb of each of those things.
But what if we smacked that idea of goodness on its behind and flipped it upside down. What if we expanded our short-sighted, self-focused, make-me-feel-happy definition of good to include (and maybe be led by) God’s eternal, holy-view of goodness. Just imagine.
I don’t have a specific scripture reference but I’m pretty certain that God’s ultimate definition of “good” means that something lines up with His design and will and love. Because He alone is good. But not everything that lines up with His perfect will and love “feels” good. Like the cross. I’m pretty certain that the cross didn’t “feel” good but it was the most perfect, gracious good to ever happen.
So if God is going to work true goodness into our human hearts, it means He, out of His absolute love and grace, will need to crush the idols we so quickly erect on our heart’s throne. It means He will need to shed things from our lives that ultimate steal what Jesus died to give. And. let. me. tell. you. That idol-crushing, flesh-shedding process can be deeply painful. Painful but absolutely good.
“Good.” We get it so twisted.
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28All things. Even this.
So what if we decided today to be really radical in our thinking. What if we decided to take every thought captive to truth — thanking Him for the easy, lovely good but also trusting Him through the hard, not-so-lovely good.
What if we asked Him to empower us to look at that challenging scenario that marks our today with His vision and through His lens of ultimate goodness. What if we chose to say, even through raw emotion and very real tears, “God, I don’t know what the heck you’re doing, but I know that nothing can touch me as Your child apart from Your love. Even though my feelings beg to differ, I trust that even this is for my ultimate good and Your ultimate glory. Have Your way.”
What if.
Fill me, Lord…
I know this thinking completely opposes not only culture but our natural, flesh inclinations as humans. But I’d love to talk this one out with you. How do you think God defines “good”?
i am relearning that the great purpose of humanity is HIS glory. and that means that what he does is….good. and perfect. even if….
Such wisdom, sister-friend. “The great purpose of humanity is HIS glory.” So true. We forget with our short-sightedness but it’s true. *And* good, like you said. Thanks for commenting, Kendal. I love hearing from you.
What does God define as good? My pastor’s wife tells me that God’s good FOR me is that I look more and more like Christ. When I think about how Jesus did “life,” I remember that He walked out Eph 2:10. He abided in God’s love, and did the good deeds God prepared in advance for Him to do. So, God must think it would be good for me to abide in His love and His words and to ask Him for help. So, my kids fighting? I could live without it, BUT when I turn to deal with it for the 100th time, I’m challenged to ask God for help and deal with it in a Christ-like manner. It’s for my good to do this. God’s good is for me to lay down my agenda and to ask for God’s help to respond to the needs around me as Christ would. Reminds me a little of this post I just read tonight …Don’t Do God’s Will Like an Atheist – Desiring God
Hi, Lara. I’ve just discovered your blog and see that you live in Greensboro. So do I! I am also a blogger at Marty’s Musings (mainly DIY/home) but I started writing about our adoption journey, deaths of loved ones and the trials we went through with everything in between. I have a 2nd blog that I’ve begun which will be more my homeschooling/faith/mom journey. It’s great to have discovered you! What church do you go to if you don’t mind me asking?