Deep thoughts, part 1

Ok, now for some deep thoughts from a shallow mind. Realize that profound is just a word to me, and I live in the world of application (so what do I do with that?) So my thoughts will not stir you to great heights, but I do hope they will encourage you.

1. God is good...ALL the time. We say that, sing about it, read it in the bible, but I don't think we really grasp how big this truth is. The goodness of God is foundational to the very understanding of the bible, and of God himself. The fact that God is good is core to the Judeo-Christian faith.

A.W. Tozer wrote in The Knowledge of the Holy, "That God is good is taught or implied on every page of the Bible and must be received as an article of faith as impregnable as the throne of God. It is a foundation stone for all sound thought about God and is necessary to moral sanity. To allow that God could be other than good is to deny the validity of all thought and end ill the negation of every moral judgment. If God is not good, then there can be no distinction between kindness and cruelty, and heaven can be hell and hell, heaven."

Jesus himself said something very interesting, Mar 10:18 "And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone."

It appears that our understanding of goodness is distorted. We consider a lot of people good, but Jesus made a very dogmatic statement, "No one is good except God alone." I am a little troubled by that verse. I think, in my mind, I disagree, but in my heart I know it's right.

So what is goodness? Again I defer to Tozer, "The goodness of God is that which disposes Him to be kind, cordial, benevolent, and full of good will toward men. He is tenderhearted and of quick sympathy, and His unfailing attitude toward all moral beings is open, frank, and friendly. By His nature He is inclined to bestow blessedness and He takes holy pleasure in the happiness of His people."

And what is amazing to me is that this attribute of God never changes. He's always this way towards us. He is always good to us...in fact that's what Christmas is all about- the goodness of God coming to earth, taking on flesh, and dwelling with us to provide what we could not attain on our own- LIFE.

As you celebrate Christmas bask in the goodness of God as you think about what this time means- God's love, his goodness made flesh.

(part 2 coming soon...)