Goodness!

Life is good.

Now, I know how debatable that statement is, but I truly have a firm belief in the goodness of life. Now I realize that there is "none good, no not one", and I also am aware that this world is full of sin and evil. I am made more aware of that tragic fact every day of my life as I struggle against temptation. I don't have to mention the sorts of things you hear every time you turn on the news.

My validation, my proof, my confidence that life is good stems from one unbreakable truth:

God is good. He is the essence of "good". He is the epitome of righteousness, holiness, justice, love. He is the only one who possesses these attributes perfectly.

Because He is good, he created a good world. And it is still good, even after the taint of sin. The rain still falls in torrents, the sun still dazzles with every rise and set, the moon is still romantic as it bathes us in silver light. If that is not sufficient proof, consider this:

The beauty of Christian fellowship as we gather for worship each Sunday, relationships full of love and commitment, the ability of the human mind to study, to learn, to excel, the cry of a new-born child into this world, honest labor, the glory of the seasons, the alarm clock that awakens you insistantly each morning, food, individuality, humor that sends you to the floor gasping for air, the richness of time spent in God's Word, times when we pour out our souls to Him in the closet...I could continue this list all day...

All of these things are good, and beautiful, and we revel in the rich joy of it all every day of our blessed lives. And there is one reason for it all. God gave us these things to show us His goodness. God created man to enjoy Him. And in all these things we ought to be recognising that fact. We ought to be enjoying Him. This is such a glorious thought, could it get any better? But it does.

I heard an illustration taken from Spurgeon this summer, my newest brother used it in a sermon. No doubt I am paraphrasing:

An old, pitiful, pauper of a woman, huddled in a corner with a little crust of bread, and she is saying rapturously, "I have Christ, and all this too!" That is enjoying God. And if we don't say that after surveying all the richness of our lives (see above), we're some poor excuse for Christians. We have Christ, because His love is so great, that He gave Himself up so that He could save this world full of base, cruel-hearted people (us). This is so glorious!

In view of all these things, it needs to be said, that our good lives should be reminding us hourly of the love of Christ, of His goodness, and consequently we can enjoy Him in everything. You know as in, "Hallelujah!". We have Christ, and all this too. Ayyymen!!

This is so exciting, it fuels my life, my motivation, me!