As a guest contributor to this column I’ve had the privilege of sharing with you numerous times. There are so many topics and issues on the societal front burner right now, it is really difficult to decide what to share.
There is the race for the White House, but the last thing anyone wants to read is the political views of a middle aged minister. Middle aged? Well that’s my perception. Then there is the heroin epidemic that is destroying good people and leaving many children with un-functional parents who are failing to provide the basic necessities of life. I wish we could at least convince young people that it’s just not worth it, even once. Life is so much better without drugs. Of course there is ISIS, lost jetliners, erratic weather, unemployment, domestic terrorism, the restroom debate, and a thousand other current concerns that could be written about. So, after arranging my thoughts into a purposeful list of priorities, I’ve focused on what is most important to me and what can also be very beneficial to you. Therefore, I have chosen to write to you about the goodness of God.
It is astounding how things can go from good to bad and from bad to worse without any warning. A doctor’s report can change your entire world in a moment. We are reminded from time to time how an evil act can turn an entire community upside down, as happen recently in San Bernardino. On a global scale, we wonder if Iran,
North Korea, or another rouge nation will cross the nuclear line. The masses are forming long lines of people who feel disillusioned and hopeless.
It is important to understand that the next occupants of the White House will not be able to do as much as they pledge to do. Political policy cannot cure all our ills, recognition of our whims and wants won’t solve our deeper problems. There is only one thing that can put our spiritually derailed train back on the tracks and that is acknowledging and accepting God for who He is. He is God alone and He is good!
Like baskets of apples filled with mostly good ones, there will inevitably be the proverbial bad one in the basket. People are like that, mostly good and yet not quite good enough. The scriptures point out in numerous places that our individual righteousness is lacking. Like those apples we eventually all go bad, biblically speaking this is called the sin nature.
One of God’s great attributes is His willingness to forgive all of us, the worst and the best of us. His view of us is much different any way. He knows we have all sinned, bad apples we are. His forgiveness and acceptance of us when we repent is all part of His goodness! Our city, our nation and our world is in desperate need of God’s goodness, but we have to pursue it through repentance.
King David reminds us in one of the Psalms how gracious, kind and good God is to a repentant soul.
The Lord is good to all,
And His tender mercies are over all His works. All Your works shall praise You, O Lord, And Your saints shall bless You.
They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom,
And talk of Your power,
To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, And the glorious majesty of His kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
The Lord upholds all who fall,
And raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season.
You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works.
The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them. The Lord preserves all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy.
Psalm 145: 9-20
It is my prayer that you will come to know God and His goodness, even though we are residents of a not so good world.
