Fruit of the Spirit: Goodness

“God is good all the time. And all the time, God is good.” Whether raised in church or new to it all, whatever ethnicity or culture you come from, God being good is a topic of discussion. You just pulled up to the mall and right in front you is a parking spot opening up. Who isn’t saying “God is good” or “won’t He do it?” Or you’re just waking up and immediately stub your toe on the nightstand. The devil is trying to steal your joy early, so you have a horrible day. God is so good He can’t possibly be associated with such a catastrophe. Honestly, God being good has a lot to do with our positive or negative experiences. Or at least we allow our experiences to dictate whether God is good or not. What does the bible say?

Let’s start with what goodness actually means. Merriam-Webster defines goodness as a quality or state of being good, with good being defined as a favorable character or tendency. Going to the original Greek for more clarification, agathosune, it gives light to God being intrinsically good. This goodness refers to spiritual, moral excellence. Not a circumstantial goodness. God IS good. All the time. And guess what? This same goodness that led you to Him, He put in you through his Holy Spirit! Not to be good when it’s easy or beneficial for you, but to be vessels of His goodness.

Now God’s goodness is expressed in many different ways, some easier to understand than others. One example is shown when God kicks Adam & Eve out of Eden after eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and placed cherubim at the east of Eden along with a flaming sword to guard the tree of life. At first, it seems very harsh to kick them out after being disobedient only one time, but then look at Genesis 3:22, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”. Eating of the tree of knowledge put humanity into a sinful state God did not intend for. While in this state, if we ate from that tree of life, we would’ve forever been in this sinful state with no redemption. God being good separated us from the garden, and even Himself, for a short while so that we may be redeemed and spend eternity with Him in glory. This example reminds me of my daughter Malia right now. We can’t have her on the floor by herself because she will truly try to eat anything she finds. She will throw tantrums left and right, scream, kick, etc. just to be able to have her way. In her little baby brain, she probably thinks we’re being mean for not letting her do what she wants to do, but we’re actually being good parents by trying to prevent her from contracting any serious illnesses like hands, foot, and mouth disease.

In the fall account we are also promised God’s goodness to be shown through Jesus in due time. Genesis 3:15 says, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” God made a plan for the redemption of humanity through Jesus’ death on the cross and restore the broken relationship. Before people could try to earn His favor, He made His goodness known. Now if there is nothing good that has happened throughout your day, you can cling onto God’s goodness of giving His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. And our next promise, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgement, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation (Hebrews 9:27-28).” What about some goodness for today, not only from the past and future? We'll look at Jesus’ great commission in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

God is good all the time. And all the time, God is good.

            I would do an incredible disservice if I didn’t address those wavering in God being good or not. Similar to a road trip when bugs splatter all over the windshield and the road becomes less visible, so as the evilness of this world can blur our vision of God’s goodness. This is a very humane thing that happens, but if you don’t get spiritual squeegee out to clean your windshield, you might end up crashing. Preparing for this post, I couldn't shake off Genesis 41:36, "Then that food shall be as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land may not perish during the famine." What is the point of this verse? We will all be in testing seasons, being stretched to what seems our absolute max. We need to keep reserves of His goodness at the forefront of our minds in times of “famine” while we seek to experience His goodness. Yes someone else’s testimony can give you some strength and hope for a moment, but you need to experience His goodness for your own life. How can a plant in the dark grow off of the plant next to it who’s getting all of the light? You need your own goodness from Him, and you need to remember that He is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore. He was good to me then, He is being good to me now, and He will be good to me forevermore. And we must be submitted to how He shows His goodness. We cannot command how He should be good or throw tantrums because we’re not getting what we want. He knows what we need, and we may find ourselves in seasons where it is only Him.

            Practically, in the Spirit, how do we practice goodness? As Jesus washed your feet, wash the feet of others. How He has been good to you, be that good to others. Show grace when wrath is the more appealing option. Extend yourself to help that cousin move although they’re stingy with reciprocating such a thing. Are you really hurting over that $20 you lent that person? Give it freely. Give your spouse the clarity they need instead of saving yourself from a hard conversation (God is still working on me honey). Offer to clean the dishes instead of creating the leaning tower of Pisa. Goodness is goodness no matter how big or small you deem the act to be. We are vessels of it all. But an FYI, these small acts of goodness will prepare you for the big ones. We want to die for Christ, the big grand gesture, right? But what about a Tuesday afternoon when He asks you to pray for a person? He is looking for full obedience, not partial. He is looking for continual vessels of goodness, not coincidental goodness.