Here’s our newest contribution to the One-Word-At-A-Time Blog Carnival. I encourage you to click the link and check out some of the other carnival attractions. This week’s word is:

GOODNESS

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. [Galatians 5:22-23]

When you proclaim God is good, what exactly do you mean?

As a practical matter, what does the goodness that’s a fruit of the Spirit look like?

Last week I wrote an article called Good … in which I confessed my tendency to define good in rather self-centered terms—if I like it, it’s good. The next day I disagreed with the common notion that It’s All Good.

But—what’s good?

I presume that goodness as fruit of the Spirit is some reflection of the pure goodness of God, but what exactly does that imply? Do you ever wonder why such a simple, foundational concept as God’s goodness creates so much confusion and even controversy?

GOOD MEANS …

• A good boy follows the rules.
• Good food is most likely bad for me.
• A good joke makes me chuckle, but a good movie might make me cry.
• I seek good friends, but might avoid a good (not great) surgeon.
• If there’s good reason, I’ll wait a good long time to have a good time.
• I work hard for admission to a good school; I’m merely satisfied with a good used car.
• I feel good even though my legs aren’t so good.
• C.S. Lewis said that trying very hard to be good only reveals how bad you truly are.
• Good is the enemy of best.

Good describes music, public policy, neighborhoods, and weather—all in different ways, almost all a matter of highly subjective opinion. Small wonder that God’s goodness evokes such widely varied, and equally subjective, thoughts and images.

And then there’s the whole notion that God works for good in all things [Romans 8:28]. Just yesterday someone told me that I should see my injury as a good thing because so much good has come from it.

Pardon the sarcasm, but if permanent paralysis is good, I might be willing to take my chances with bad.

Please don’t misunderstand. I absolutely believe that God works for good—my good, what’s ultimately in my very best interest—in all circumstances. But what is the good toward which He works?

I think we miss the point when we define good in terms of the things of this world. I think He has something much bigger in mind.

For me, God’s goodness manifests itself in His generous, sacrificial desire for open, authentic, transparent relationship. He wants to bring me closer to Him. He works in all circumstances to break down the enemy’s barriers.

God desires relationship with me so much that He paid the price of His Son to achieve it.

That’s the whole message of Relentless Grace. I give up; He’s faithful. I mess up; He pays the price for my forgiveness. I wander off; He pursues me, finds me, and brings me home.

That’s grace. That’s agape. That’s authentic goodness.

FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT

When I live God’s way, His Spirit grants to me some small measure of His desire for relationship. I value people more than things, service more than profit, empowerment more than entitlement. I seek intimacy and vulnerability rather than power and control.

I become a bit more like Jesus.

If you’re interested, I’ve just released a new free e-book titled IF GOD LOVES ME SO MUCH, WHY …? Please click the link and read some of my thoughts about God’s role in times of adversity. Please visit my resources page for other free e-books.

I’ve learned that my goal shouldn’t be to affect change. It’s too easy to think I’ve failed because rarely is the person who plants the seed of change the person to see it bloom. Instead I’ve decided to make my goal to affect good. Trying to affect change can feel overwhelming, but good always self-propagates and ultimately leads to the change we’re usually after.

Did you enjoy this article? I encourage you to leave a comment, visit my website, and/or send me an email at rich@richdixon.net.

Receive free updates via email:

Subscribe in a reader

Related articles:

It’s All Good  

Good …  

A New Thing

Accomplishing The Impossible

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]

Yesterday I wrote about one aspect of good. If you’d like to read that story first, go ahead … I’ll wait.

I’m sure you’ve heard the currently-popular expression: It’s all good. Today, I’d like to transform it into a question: It’s ALL good?

No, it’s not ALL good.

Yesterday’s story looked at our tendency to define good from a narrow, self-centered perspective. Good skiing weather may be bad cycling weather.

But that doesn’t mean it’s all relative. Some things are objectively, absolutely good, and some are objectively, absolutely evil.

Occasionally I encounter someone who subscribes to the theology of IT’S ALL GOOD. In this system it’s apparently sinful to label any circumstance as evil. The logic seems to hold that God is absolutely sovereign, so if He allowed something to happen then it must be within His will. And if it’s God’s will, then it must be good.

I don’t agree.

Good?

As a new teacher, I worked with a young lady whose mother died after a particularly horrible struggle with cancer. She came into my classroom one afternoon and sat for a long time, crying, and then she said something odd. She said she felt really guilty.

What do you think she felt guilty about? I thought of a number of possibilities, but I wasn’t prepared for what actually emerged.

She felt guilty for feeling sad.

Her mom just died, she’d watched her prolonged suffering, and she didn’t think she ought to feel sad.

Regrettably—from my perspective—her dad and sisters were committed disciples of IT’S ALL GOOD. God had decided to take their mother after subjecting her to a gruesome illness, and they believed she ought to be thankful and celebrate. No grief allowed—God’s will is good, no reason to mourn.

My student didn’t feel like celebrating, and she was now afraid that God was angry with her for feeling sad. This misguided notion of IT’S ALL GOOD twisted her perfectly natural and understandable grief into an even more frightening and confusing darkness.

Since that day, I’ve watched both of my parents and my closest friend die from cancer. I was sad; I believe Jesus was sad as well.

Twenty-two years ago I fell from a roof while installing Christmas lights. I do not believe God caused that fall. I believe Jesus shared my fear as the doctors told me I was permanently paralyzed.

And I do not believe God expected a grieving high school student to celebrate her mother’s suffering and death.

Some circumstances are undeniably evil. I’m thankful for the love of God who faithfully works for good—His version of authentic good—in situations where I see only pain and darkness.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. [Psalm 23:4]

Not “around” the valley, or “over” it—I travel through the valley of the shadow. I’m not always grateful for that journey and its pain and fear.

I AM grateful that Jesus travels with me. That’s ALL good!

I’m curious—what are your thoughts about IT’S ALL GOOD?

Did you enjoy this article? I encourage you to leave a comment, visit my website, and/or send me an email at rich@richdixon.net.

Receive free updates via email:

Subscribe in a reader

Related articles:

Five Toxic Thoughts

A Circle Of Great Love

Adversity And Gratitude

… isn’t always as clear as I think.

For me, one of the absolute principles of scripture is Romans 8:28:

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.

I believe that. It’s been my source of hope in some dark moments when I could find no reason to continue the struggle. However, I suspect that I tend to see this wonderful assurance through a distorted lens.

I suspect that my perceptions of “good” mostly translate to “what I want.”

• Lots of money = good; less money = not good
• Easy = good; difficult = not good
• My team wins = good; the other team wins = not good

You get the idea. If I like it and it benefits me, it’s good.

I once heard a pastor from a rural North Dakota church tell a story that made me re-think my often self-centered notion of good.

The farms surrounding his church were struggling through a prolonged dry period. If rain didn’t come soon, an entire year’s crops would be lost.

So the pastor prayed for rain. A few days later it rained. And for the rest of the summer, rain was frequent and plentiful. The farmers harvested record crops, and the pastor thanked God for answering his prayers.

God had been good.

One day as winter approached one of his parishioners appeared in the office in great distress. His business was on the brink of failure.

The man ran a large contracting company that did road paving work. The season for this work in North Dakota is relatively short, and excessive rain had prevented him from completing contracted obligations.

Long-time employees who depended on his company for income and benefits were in danger of losing their jobs. Roads would deteriorate over the winter from lack of maintenance, leading to increased taxes for everyone in the county.

As he scrambled for a way to keep his business afloat until the following summer, he asked the pastor to pray for good weather. To avoid disaster, he needed an exceptionally productive season.

Good … isn’t always as clear as I think.

For me, this story’s a reminder that my perception of good is often pretty narrow and sometimes downright selfish. I believe God always works for good, even when I don’t see it. There’s a huge element of faith and trust that too frequently gets lost in my myopic view of events.

Tomorrow I want to look at what seems to me to be the flip side of this question. For now, I’ll leave you to ponder this quote:

We say that God is such a good God because it didn’t rain on our Sunday School picnic. But He was still a good God when He allowed me to watch my sister, Betsie, die in a concentration camp.
Corrie ten Boom

Is there any place in your life where “good” might be defined a little too narrowly?

Did you enjoy this article? I encourage you to leave a comment, visit my website, and/or send me an email at rich@richdixon.net.

Receive free updates via email:

Subscribe in a reader

Related articles:

Struggle

The Butterfly Circus

God does not allow evil and suffering to continue because He does not love us, or is in some way detached and removed from us. God takes our suffering so seriously, that he took it upon himself on the cross. Tim Keller 

When I speak to a group about RELENTLESS GRACE, the questions are frequently penetrating and gut-wrenchingly honest. One question is asked more than any other. “Do you believe that God caused your injury?”

That’s tough to answer because I know what’s beneath the surface. A child gets cancer. A spouse dies in a senseless accident. Dreams and aspirations are destroyed indiscriminately, pain strikes needlessly, suffering endures pointlessly. And we want to know why. Why did this happen? Is it God’s will? How could He do such an awful thing, or how could He allow it?

I can’t speak definitively for God (which probably doesn’t surprise you) and I think there’s great danger in claiming to understand the details of God’s plan. We tend to create Him in our image and ascribe limited human motives to Him. We seek simplistic cause-and-effect explanations for complex circumstances. I’m convinced that His thoughts are bigger than our finite ability to reason.

However, my injury has prompted me to examine the question of God’s role in suffering and apparent tragedy. I’ve compiled an incomplete list of basic principles that cast some light for me into a troubling personal darkness.

• God’s purpose and plan are bigger than anything I can see or even imagine.

However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” [1 Corinthians 2:9]

• God loves me and never wants me to be afraid.

God is love … There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. [1 John 4:16(a),18(a)]

• God sent Jesus as the perfect sacrifice. No matter what my situation, I know I’ll spend eternity in relationship with Him.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. [John 3:16]

• I trust that God will never let go of me.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 8:38-39]

• I trust that God’s work in my life will ultimately come together for my good, even when I can’t see how or when that might be possible.

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]

• God made me along with the rest of His creation. His intent for me is for good.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. [Genesis 1:31(a)]

God loves me, wants only good for me, and will never let go of me. And even when circumstances are temporarily horrible, I know that He sacrificed His son to assure that I’ll be in His presence for all of eternity. This is the sum of my experience.

Childhood disease, random accidents, and indiscriminate suffering don’t seem to qualify under any reasonable definition of “good.” Neither do senseless, disabling injuries like mine. Therefore, my answer is that I don’t believe God causes these events. I do not believe that God decided one morning that this would be a good day to cause the suffering associated with a spinal cord injury and permanent paralysis.

Evil is present in our fallen world. Why does He allow it? I don’t know, because His purposes are bigger than my vision. But I know that He’ll always use even tragedy for good and that one day the pain will end and be replaced with endless joy.

That’s not an easy answer, but it’s all I’ve got. It’s enough for me.

I have been asked on hundreds of times in my life why God allows tragedy and suffering. I have to confess that I really do not know the answer totally, even to my own satisfaction. I have to accept, by faith, that God is sovereign, and He is a God of love and mercy and compassion in the midst of suffering. Billy Graham

I hope you’ll take a look at my new e-book titled STICKS AND STONES: Finding Freedom In The Face Of Criticism. It’s a free PDF download. You can click the link in the sidebar or go to my resources page to download.

Did you enjoy this article? Please leave a comment, visit my website, and/or send me an email at rich@richdixon.net.

Subscribe to receive updates by Email

Related articles:

An Imitator Of Jesus

Rose Colored Glasses

The Strength To Be Gentle

Criticism vs Feedback