Psalm 23:6
Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
I’ve been thinking about the word goodness this week.
Goodness is listed as a fruit of the spirit in Galatians
5:22. The dictionary tells me goodness is moral excellence, a kindly feeling,
generosity, and virtue.
When I think of pure goodness, I remember the sweet faces of
my girls as newborns. Looking into their eyes, I saw the purest elements of
humankind.
When God created the garden of Eden and all the beautiful
natural elements, He said, “It is good.” Everything shone with goodness, before
the wretched snake (Satan) slithered in and tempted Adam and Eve. Once they indulged
in the fruit of the tree of life, the goodness faded. Sin scarred the purity of
the earth and the moral excellence.
Yet God had a plan. He had given the humans the freedom to
choose, and He knew they would choose poorly.
When I worked in the elementary school library, I would ask
the students about good and bad choices. “Was it a good choice to leave a
library book in the rain?” “Should you leave your book where the dog can gnaw
on it?” You get the idea.
Years ago, I made the choice to accept Jesus as my Savior—best
choice I ever made. With Jesus as my Lord, I have goodness in my life. I’m not
perfect, I sin, I make mistakes, but God pours His goodness over me. He keeps
showing up. His goodness and love follow me all the days of my life. And I’m so
very thankful. With His goodness in my life, I continue to grow as a believer.
I have confidence in His salvation, and I have the hope of heaven.
Let God’s goodness pour over you.
