God's Goodness

God's goodness is a tricky concept. If God is good, and He is loving and kind, how does He allow bad things to happen?

First of all I will state that I do not know the full answer to this question. But I have been reading a book (Knowing God by JI Packer) that talks a lot about this concept. And while he answers some questions, he also leaves others kind of hanging in the air, but I have been able to get kind of a grasp on the concept of God's goodness.

• ·         Psalm 100:5 – “For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”
• ·         Ps 136:1 – “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”
• ·         1 Chronicles 16:34 – “O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
• ·         Nahum 1:7 – “The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble, And He knows those who take refuge in Him.”

And I could go on and on with these examples. Just google “God’s goodness” and about a hundred verses will pop up.

So what does being good mean? To me it means that God is the culmination of every perfect thing. He is holy and perfectly encompasses every holy attribute wholly in Himself. And He doesn’t just keep those things to Himself – He is generous. He generously gives His love and affection, generously doles out mercy and grace.

~ ~ ~

God has to somehow hold His goodness to a standard. There is retribution and punishment for evil. If you were to spurn His generosity and His grace that He freely gives, that’s on you. That is your decision – you have cut yourself off from the Father’s goodness. And if you continuously spurn His teachings and commandments, and do not stick to goodness but instead cling to evil, there will be punishment for those choices. As Packer puts it – God’s wrath will be incited.

• ·         Jeremiah 18:6-10 – “’O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done?’ declares the Lord. ‘Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. 9 And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10 and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it.’ ”

So how can a loving God be able to possess wrath?

This is the part where I get a little confused. I think of wrath being exhibited by a mighty hand extending from the sky, perhaps with a lightning bolt or two, or the anger of a woman scorned (lol). 

But God possesses righteous wrath. He IS righteous wrath.

Righteous wrath is the punishment of wrongs. In order to be a good God, there must be a standard of good, and something to back that standard up. We are human beings, we are sinful. Sin is wrong in God’s eyes. Therefore since we are human we deserve punishment.

It’s almost like a reflex – wrong deserves punishment. But it is also not a reflex because God possesses mercy and grace that pardons us from the wrongs we committed – the embodiment of Jesus Christ.

~ ~ ~

Alright so God has to back up His goodness. What about bad things happening to good people? What about cancer, and plain suffering?

• John 9: 1-7 – “As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.”

So the bad things that happen to us, like cancer or blindness (or even diabetes – #holleratme), are not because of some wrong we may have committed. The things that we go through, the trials we persevere, are all for the glory of Him who commissions us. While we are on this earth and while we endure our sufferings, God’s works are being displayed, and what greater role than that can we play?

God loves all of His children more than we can comprehend. I think that His greatest desire is for us to draw closer to Him (side note: desire may not be the best word because God isn’t human and doesn’t necessarily possess human emotions, but I digress). If we were to live perfect lives and never go through anything, very few people would see the necessity of God, and very few people would want to draw close to Him. So, besides the fact that there is sin in this world and there is pain and suffering, God uses the strenuous circumstances to draw us and others closer to Him, and closer to each other.

• Isaiah 64:8 – “But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

When we go through trials and suffering, or experience the tribulations of someone close to us, God is simply shaping the relationship between us and Him. It may be arduous for both, but at the outcome, the relationship will be stronger. And strengthening your relationship with God is what Christianity is really all about.