Being "Good"
By Sally Bland --
What does it mean to be good? When I was growing up I was a very “good” child. I liked rules (this is true even today) and worked hard to obtain the praise of parents, teachers, and peers. Observing me anyone would say I was good because I only showed people what I wanted them to see. I acted “good,” but my soul was screaming with anger, jealously, and the need to be perfect. I wanted to experience goodness, but without Jesus in my life my selfish desires controlled my every thought. My outward appearance did not match the inward struggle I faced. As a young adult I began to understand the true meaning of goodness:
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;His faithfulness continues through all generation. -- Psalm 100:5
After I became a Christian I discovered who God is and I began to see that goodness comes from Him. God has always been good to us. Even when sin separated us from God in the Garden of Eden, He set in motion our redemption through the loving sacrifice of Jesus. Even today, God continues to redeem us from the sin that takes over our lives. As a child, my struggles with identity lead to a heart filled with pain. Now I can seek God’s will in my life to define my identity in Him. When I remember to put Jesus in the center of my life, I find rest in God’s goodness from my internal struggles.
Join us on Sunday as Pastor Wayne shares how the goodness described in Galatians 5 changes our personal lives and our impacts our community. I pray the goodness and love of Jesus is with you this week. I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.