GOD IS GOODNESS
- Luke 15:20 – No, the father does not wait for him to come to him and beg for forgiveness.
This is a beautiful picture of the Heavenly Father’s mercy, goodness and compassion.
a. The Father runs and meets him, embraces him and kisses him.
b. The Father commands the servant to bring forth the best robe and put it on him, put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.
c. The Father commands the fatted calf to be killed so that they might have a feast.
The prodigal son returns home asking only to be made as one of the servants. However, the father sees him when he is a long distance away and runs and meets him, falls on his neck and kisses him in spite of all his filth, rags and wretchedness. This is our Heavenly Father. He commands that a robe be put on him, not just any robe but the best robe, a symbol of dignity. He also commands that shoes be put on his feet (slaves went barefoot). Thus, we have here a threefold symbol of the freedom and honor restored, as the fruit of perfect reconciliation. The fatted calf was kept for festive occasions.
GOODNESS ACCEPTANCE
- No, it will not always be accepted by others even though we mean it as good.
- Luke 11:39-44 – The divine goodness exemplified in the life of Christ was not always accepted by those He came in contact with. Good and evil cannot have any part of each other. They are irresistibly opposed. The Lord’s goodness and the evil of the enemy can have no part of each other. Let us always remember that the goodness of God will ultimately prevail over evil. The scribes and Pharisees were repelled by Christ’s divine goodness. They were repelled by Christ because He saw through their superficial piety. He saw them as phoney “do-gooders.”
- Luke 18:9-14 – Here we have the parable of the Pharisee and publican. The Pharisee publicizes all that he has done in a very haughty manner while the publican beseeches God to have mercy on him.
Our own goodness should never be paraded or publicized because in Luke 18:14b Christ says, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
If the good works are done to gain recognition and praise, this springs from a selfish self-centeredness, not from the indwelling Spirit of God.
GOODNESS EVIDENCED
John 14:26 – The Holy Spirit should always be our guide and source of strength.
GOODNESS TO OTHERS
2 Corinthians 9:7-15 – We are to extend goodness to others, not grudgingly or under compulsion because God loves those who do things cheerfully. This results in your meeting the needs of others and also in an overflowing tide of thanksgiving to God. It will also prove the reality of your faith and men will thank God that you practice the gospel you profess to believe in.
GOODNESS UNLIMITED
John 6:5-14 – Here we find the example of the lad who out of the goodness of his heart gives his lunch of five loaves and two small fishes to Jesus. Jesus, in turn, multiplies this and feeds the five thousand. After they have eaten twelve baskets are left. If we selfishly keep to ourselves what God has blessed us with we will lose the blessing, and what we have will wither away, wasted on ourselves.