Goodness, Where Did It Begin?

This week I have tried to give back a bit of God's goodness to you by way of showing where it is among some rough and tough circumstances. If I have not been entirely successful, I take all the blame for that because God's goodness is a great-big-huge thing with Him. The first mention in the Bible of our Lord's goodness is with Moses:

Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” (Exodus 33:19)

Goodness, grace, and compassion are each very closely tied to the name of our Lord here, but we also see that God's goodness is so big that He can make it pass before Moses like a parade. Moses cannot see God's face and live, but His goodness is viewed and enjoyed - think of a child watching a really good parade for the first time. We too, if we will take a moment to tear our eyes away from the tragedy of this fallen world for a time, can see God's goodness, delight in His grace, and enjoy His compassion. God's goodness began with Him of course.

Although the word 'goodness' isn't used until the verse I selected this morning, we can go back to the very beginning and read God telling the story of how He saw that it was good. At the Creation, we read that goodness is a part of God, perhaps with love even the greatest part of our God. Punishment, destruction, death - these only come in response to the sin of people. Given what God knew would come, He certainly could have created the earth, saw that it was awful, and said, "They'll fit right in!". But He didn't, He made it good, out of His goodness.

What God seems to want to do throughout the Bible is restoration, forgiveness, grace, compassion, and love - all of which come from His goodness. So, when we say 'God is good' we acknowledge the fact that goodness began with Him, is Him, and ends with Him. God is good! Amen.

Bucky