Goodness

Ever read a verse in the Bible and for a minute you’re taken aback by the verse. What are the words really saying here… no that can’t be what it is saying… wait a minute is that what it is saying? One such first for me occurs in Luke 18:19: And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.”

So what is Jesus saying here? I know he’s not saying he isn’t good - that doesn’t make sense. We know that he is the word made flesh, so what is he trying to make me think through here? I believe He is in fact claiming His deity by saying: I think that you think I’m good, and I am good, because only God is truly good, so therefore I must be God. It reminds me of those arguments and philosophy class back in college.

That leads me to a conversation about goodness. If no one is good except God and no one is perfect except God then why are so many people stuck believing that being a good person and good acts makes them eligible for heaven? And even we Christians become frustrated when we don’t feel that we are good enough or perfect enough so the argument would go: are we truly trying to make our selves a deity?

Let’s take it a step further; how about how we judge others? If we hold others up to a standard of being good enough or perfect, then are we expecting them to be Jesus? It’s important that we think through this… no one is good enough and no one is perfect except for God.

So, give yourself a break… Give others a break… See the goodness that is there and the goodness of our God.