God is good, all the time.  All the time, God is good.

I heard this many, many times growing up in church.  The pastor would call out and the congregation would respond enthusiastically. I remember thinking that this was such a corny exercise. I always watched the reactions of the new people, wondering if they thought it was as strange as I did.  Fast forward to today – now I’m of the opinion that we should recite this over and over until we really get it. The core of the Christian identity stands on this truth.

Moses had the audacity, or maybe the courage, to ask to see God’s glory and goodness.  God honored his request. As God passed by he described himself – the Lord, God of compassion and mercy, slow to anger, filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.  And beyond his character, he added a couple action words: “I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.” God went on to describe his justice, as well, and the impact on generations.  There is no doubt that God’s justice is significant. And there is no doubt that God’s goodness is more significant. The justice impacts a few generations, the blessing impacts a thousand more!

The theme of God’s goodness extends throughout Scripture.  We also see God’s goodness in creation. Psalm 145 states that God is good to all.  Romans 1:19-20 says that God is so obvious in nature that mankind is without excuse.  However, instead of worshipping the glorious, everlasting God, people create idols as a vain substitution.  What keeps “them” and “us” from seeing God as he really is? What would compel people to build a false god instead of worshiping the Real God?

Our lack of faith is often rooted in the false idea that maybe God isn’t good.  This was the deception in the Garden – the serpent planted the idea that maybe God wasn’t as good as he said.  And throughout the history of mankind this deception continues, resulting in fear that leads to a lack of complete faith.  

If God is good, then everything changes.  We have freedom. We are forgiven. We can worship the living God.  We can approach the throne of grace with confidence. We have no reason to fear, because God is good and he lavishes us with his unfailing love to a thousand generations.

God is good, all the time.

 

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This is loosely based on a message I shared at Cornerstone Church on September 15, 2019: