Galatians 5:22-26 (NET) 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25If we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, being jealous of one another.
We live in a world of superlatives. The game wasn’t good, it was fantastic. Supper wasn’t good, it tasted amazing. Your dress isn’t good, it’s beautiful. Your hair isn’t good, it’s adorable. Well, you get the picture by now, I’m sure. So what does good mean? According to my favorite well-worn 1965 Websters on my desk; good is something having the proper qualities; efficient and reliable; needing no further adjustments or enhancements.
The entire first chapter of Genesis recounts God’s Creation and no less than seven times God pronounces His creation good (c.f., vs. 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, and 31). And only in the last reference, v. 31, is the adjective very added to give the fullest sense of very good. Out of an abundance of love, God saw his creation as having the proper qualities; efficient and reliable (for sustaining life); needing no further adjustments or enhancements. God saw that whatever was conducive and productive for life in His creation was good, because He himself is good and that goodness was reflected in all of the works that He created.
How does this new understanding of goodness cause me to respond? Well, for one thing I must acknowledge that I may possess many qualities, but I find myself in prayer to make sure those are the proper qualities for a Christian to demonstrate love toward others. I’m not always the most efficient and reliable and I quickly recognize my need for improvement in those areas. My thoughts often need adjustments away from negativity and towards that which is positive; and my attitude frequently needs enhancement. Perhaps this is a somewhat silly way of analysis, but the point is I don’t have to be an amazing person, a spectacular person, an awesome person—I just need to make sure that when I reflect Christ’s love that I am good.
Gracious Heavenly Father,
When I see the love you poured into your Creation, and I further understand how that creation fell short of your goodness; I understand my own need for forgiveness. Thank you for hearing my prayer. Teach me the goodness of your ways that I might share the love of Christ with others.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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Email: Dotty Willmon, writefrommyheartblog@gmail.com
Scriptures quotations marked NET are taken from the New English Translation Bible® http://netbible.com copyright © 1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.
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