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in Establish Faith

Is God Good?

Have you ever heard or thought to yourself "I'm a good person?"  Words of course have meaning, so what does "good" mean in this context?  I would suggest something like: "I take care of my family", "I don't do drugs or rob banks", or "I'm basically nice to others."  What we think of ourselves is frequently what we would also like others to think of us.  In essence these are moral and ethical qualities we believe we demonstrate and try to live by.  But where do these moral qualities come from?  In today's secular world morality loosely defined resembles the state of apostate Israel in the book of Judges where "Everyone did what was right in their own minds."

Let's take our discussion to another level and ask what does it mean when we say "God is good?"  Too often the "goodness" we ascribe to God becomes a close reflection of the attributes we ascribe to ourselves.  God becomes nice, a caring Father, someone who meets our felt needs.  This God becomes at best too meek and mild and at worst our head butler.  If this is our "good" God then it is the God described in J. B. Phillips' classic "Your God is Too Small." 

What then is God's "goodness?  Moses was our "gold standard" of someone who had an intimate relationship with God until the Advent of Jesus.  Moses always sought a deeper knowledge of God and on Mt. Sinai he asked God: "Show me your Glory", meaning reveal to me your being, the essence and presence of who you are.  God responded that "no one can see me and live", so He shielded Moses while His "goodness", His glory passed by.  When we declare that God is "good" we are affirming that God is Holy.  He is infinite moral purity, power and unfathomable love.  How can we know what the moral qualities, and the true "goodness" of God are if we like Moses unable to "see" God due to our sinful nature?  God in mercy and grace has revealed those qualities to us in Scripture, but we "see" God in the face of Jesus. God fully divine and fully human who stood before us as sinners so that we could "see" the glory and holiness of God.  By Jesus sacrifice we  can come into God's holy presence in our lives today through prayer and worship having the assurance that our sins are forgiven, and we are covered by the blood of Christ.  We can know, "see" and live in the "goodness" of God because we can affirm along with John Newton: "I am a great sinner and Christ is a great savior."  Our God is good!

 

 

     

Posted by David Jacobs with
Tags: good, holy, moral
in Establish Faith

Behold Your King

Christmas Day is almost upon us and it seems that every year we as Christians struggle to keep Christ at the center of our family traditions and celebrations.  We find ourselves pushing back against a world view that has determined to make Christmas just another day in a holiday season that stretches from Thanksgiving into the New Year.  So, how do we keep Christ in Christmas?  I would suggest that we use these last few days of Advent to reflect on this question: who was this babe born in a stable to a teenage girl named Mary some 2,000 years ago?  

From the beginning this was no ordinary birth and no ordinary child.  Luke's Gospel relates that the birth of Jesus was foretold by the angel Gabriel.  He declared to a virgin named Mary that the power of the Holy Spirit would conceive the child and "The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."  All Israel had been waiting for this moment since their return from exile in Babylon some 500 years earlier.  It was an event prophesied 250 years before when Isaiah declared that a child would be born who would be called "Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace", and that he would reign over David's throne and kingdom forever.  The arrival of a king in ancient times would be heralded by trumpets and a royal procession attended by the elites of the nation and crowds of cheering subjects.  In contrast, the birth of Jesus was revealed to shepherds, the lowest caste of Israelite, who were beckoned to see the coming King not in a palace in Jerusalem, but in a horse trough in a barn in Bethlehem.  The call to the shepherds came not through human design.  They witnessed the veil of heaven open and angelic messengers of God bringing the "Good News" that Messiah had come to free the world from the bondage of sin and evil.  These were not chubby babies with little wings from a Renaissance painting but powerful and awe inspiring heavenly host declaring "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." 

As we ready ourselves to celebrate this Christmas Day, let's begin to envision our Nativity scenes as more than just an idyllic family gathering around a newborn child.  God has come to dwell with us.  We can and should celebrate with great joy the Advent of Jesus our King who has come to establish God's Kingdom of righteousness and restore God's good creation.  More than the blessings of "Merry Christmas" let us declare this Christmas to the world: "Behold Your King!"            

Posted by David Jacobs with
Tags: christmas, king

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