June 21 – Goodness (Psalm 23)

“Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life.” (Psalm 23:6)

IN WORD:
For something to be worthwhile in our age, it must be amazing, outstanding, remarkable, or awesome. We are so overwhelmed with superlatives that we must keep coming up with more attention-grabbing adjectives with each new season of advertising. But God often advertises Himself in refreshing simplicity. He is good. Through and through, pure and simple, He is good. His attitude toward us is good, His will toward us is good, and His works on our behalf are good. We are unaccustomed to pure forms in our world — everything is tainted with corruption — but with God, no superlative is necessary. From any angle we look at Him, we see goodness.
There’s a remarkable transformation for us in His goodness. God blesses so that His people will become “blessers.” He gives so that we will give. He loves so that we will love. He forgives so that we will forgive. His demeanor toward us is to be reflected in our demeanor toward others. It isn’t just a responsibility to fulfill; it’s a natural reaction. When we’ve been treated so well, it’s natural to treat others well. His goodness takes root in us; we become good, like Him.

IN DEED:
Most of us are busy trying to impress others with a remarkable personality, amazing skills, or our outstanding achievements. God’s Spirit in us, however, will not make us flashy. He will make us good.
If others do not see in us a simple, uncorrupted goodness, they do not see the Spirit of God. We forget that behind every miracle, behind every teaching, behind every revelation and prophecy, there is the good will of God. Goodness underlies everything He does. He is a beneficent Creator, and a beneficent Creator births beneficent children. Do you bear His goodness? Demonstrate it to someone today. Show your world what God is like.

“Goodness is something so simple: always live for others, never to seek one’s own advantage.” -Dag Hammarskjold-