God Is Good

What, in your opinion, would be a good life? Maybe one with no more threat of financial instability, or pain, or sickness, or death? A life with no more struggle? How about a life filled instead with joy, rest and peace – peace that lasts?

We all long for that. But the truth is, we could search for such lasting goodness our whole lives and never find it in this world.

It wasn’t always this way. When God created the world, He noted that every part of it was “good” – perfect and complete (see Genesis 1). He gave humans the responsibility of caring for and protecting that goodness. He made them uniquely in His image, enabling them to complete this task on His behalf and for His glory (Genesis 1:27-28).

But in this special makeup, created to rule in this wisdom and authority, they had within them what no other created being was given: the ability to choose. Like anyone under someone else’s authority, the first humans, Adam and Eve, could choose to submit to God and faithfully fulfill their created purpose, or they could choose to rebel.

The Bible teaches that Satan physically manifested himself in the Garden of Eden, where God placed them to enjoy all of the good things He made in abundance, and he enticed and deceived them to disobey God and believe they could have a better life by doing things their way, determining in their own minds what was good for them, and therefore becoming autonomous – their own gods, calling all the shots.

Their decision, however, only led to sin and evil taking root in their hearts. Their souls, now separated from their life-giving Creator, became corrupted and exposed to decay and death. Because they were created to care for the earth, by extension the earth became cursed as well, and the continuance of life was burdened and threatened from that day on. The very DNA of humanity is infected with sin. The Bible says we are born spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1). Sin has enslaved us in its power (Romans 6:6; John 8:34) and set us on an irreversible course toward eternal separation from God in Hell – the place once only reserved for Satan and his angels (Matthew 25:41).

Because it’s all destined for death and destruction, we can’t put our trust in any created, physical thing. Rather, our only hope for life is in God, who is holy and eternal:

• “… the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17).
• “…the form of this world is passing away” (1 Corinthians 7:31).
• “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever” (1 Peter 1:24-25).
• “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Matthew 24:35).

When Jesus Christ came from heaven to earth, He was God, manifested in flesh (1 Timothy 3:16). He took on human form to become the physical representation of humanity. The difference, however, is that He was without sin (1 Peter 2:22). Perfectly good, He was the only One who could enter into humanity and enter into God’s holy presence, becoming a bridge back to God for all who turn from sin and to Him. Jesus came for the mission of putting the power of sin to death, by dying in our place. The Bible describes a mysterious, supernatural act in which Jesus became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). He became that very thing that enslaves us and keeps us separated from God. He also suffered the judgment that is on sin: death (Romans 6:23).

Our hope does not end in His death, however. Remember – Jesus is God, and therefore, He is eternal and in nature untouched by the corruption of sin and its power. Three days after He laid down His life on a cross 2,000 years ago in the first-century Roman empire, He rose from the grave. The Bible says that God raised Him up, “having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it” (Acts 2:24).

The Bible tells us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), and that He re-entered Heaven, where He sits at God’s right hand and intercedes for those who look to Him for rescue from sin (Romans 8:34).

The goodness of God toward us is most notable in His call to us to repent (Romans 2:4). Repentance means turning away from the sin that enslaves us and turning toward Jesus, who can save us from its destruction and set us on the path to eternal life.

It’s never too late, because God is good – all the time! And “His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 136:1). As long as there is breath in your body, you can ask Him to save you – and He will.

The Bible tells us that God’s promise to save those who look to Jesus Christ is a hope that is “an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast” (Hebrews 6:19). Throughout the Bible, God is repeatedly described as “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy” (Psalm 103:8)…and He is thoroughly trustworthy and never changes (Malachi 3:6; James 1:17; Numbers 23:19).

Seasons change. There are a lot of emotional ups and downs and challenges in this life. But God can be your “refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).

Discover, even now, His goodness that leads you to repentance and eternal life.

For a deeper dive into the question of God's Goodness, especially as it relates to the question of "If God is good, why does evil still exist?" watch this video: