A couple of weeks ago I asked us to ponder God's goodness. What is it?
I realized after writing that short post that this is no small subject.
Sometimes the word 'good' is used as a comparison word; as in a list: e.g., poor, satisfactory, good, great. 'Great' is better than 'good' in such a list. But God but cannot be confined to the petty spheres of such lists, and calling him great (as in, 'that meal was great!') is just too small for him. The other use of 'great'--as in 'remarkable in magnitude' (another dictionary definition)--fits him much better. But again, 'great' as in "better than good", should be avoided - if only because saying "God isn't just good; he's great" sounds more like the slogan for Kellogg's Frosted Flakes than a description of the Creator.
No, 'good' in the sense that "God is good" is much, much deeper than that.
God is good in a deep, standalone kind of way. He is pure. He is real. He is true.
And while a whole book could be written on God's goodness--and I'm sure many have been--here is a taste of what God's goodness means from my vantage point:
God is faithful. God loved you before you were conceived. He loved you through childhood, your teen years, and now. He will love you for the rest of your life. He will love you when things slow down and you finish your years on this earth. He will love you as you fade away - from the minds and memories and hearts and genealogical lists of those who remain. And he will love you into Heaven--if you accepted his love while you were here (John 3:16)--and beyond - as much as he loved you at conception. To me, this is a deeply satisfying thought. It is true of no one else.
God is the answer. He is the truth (John 14:6). He is real. He is the same right through. He doesn't make mistakes and have to say sorry. He doesn't misjudge. He doesn't mislead. He never needs to back-peddle. He knows. He knows you. And he knows that you need him.
God is far beyond you. God is not a slice of your pie. He is not a get-out-jail-free card. He is not your plaything. He is not your magical cure. No, God is far beyond that. He is the center. He is the source. He invites you to receive Him, to receive his salvation, to enter his story, to build his Kingdom, to worship him, to find your satisfaction--the only satisfaction that lasts--in him. And his sovereignty and Kingship and majesty--so far beyond you and I--is also the solution you and I need.
He is far beyond and far greater than you and I, and yet he is a God who can be and wants to be near (Deuteronomy 31:8; Psalm 23).
1 Sat eve ~N's b'day party 2 Sun 4pm Malkutha Bible mtg 3 Mon (1) 9:30am VT prayer, (2) 8pm ph call (NC in Australia) 5 Wed 1pm lunch (M/KW) - Mississauga 6 Thu (1) 11am mtg (JSh), (2) 1pm funeral (An.; JeNY staying over) 7-8 Fri-Sat w/ boys (~J working Fri and at shower in Oshawa on Sat) 9 Sun (1) Church, (2) poss. lunch (PY/AC) 10 Mon Kids Kapers party (stat. holiday) 10-16 Mon-Sun holiday - Collingwood (GV passed away 14/Apr) 16 Sun baby dedication - Scarborough 21 Fri MVT board mtg 22-24 Sat-Mon Winnipeg ministry trip
MAY
2 Tue 2:40pm med appt 3 Wed 12:30pm l'ship mtg 4 Thu 2:30pm video mtg (Ppls,JBau) 5 Fri time w/ TW; ~Ch dropoff/pickup (~J working) 6 Sat eve special dinner for Som/Saj 9 Tue 3:30pm video mtg (AA) 10 Wed (1) 8:30am Int'l steering mtg, (2) 12:30pm l'ship mtg 11 Thu 11:30am brunch (JMy) - Newmarket 12 Fri 8pm ~J w/ friend (NaG) 13 Sat SL w/ boys 14 Sun (1) Ppls Church, (2) 4pm neighbourhood Bible mtg 15 Mon (1) 9:30am VT prayer, (2) 1:30pm video med appt, (3) 3:30pm hosting ORU students, (4) 5:30pm dinner w/ JY/L + dessert w/ others 16 Tue (1) 11am mtg (KBr), (2) 7:30pm prayer mtg 17 Wed 12:30pm l'ship mtg 18 Thu SL w/ ~Ch 19 Fri 3:15pm ~Co's b'day party 20 Sat ~Co's b'day 22 Mon SL w/ ~J/C/C, Som/S, MG, Mp+ 23 Tue (1) 11am video mtg (Saj/I), (2) 12:15pm ph call (AA) 24 Wed (1) 9am video mtg (SM+), (2) 12:30pm l'ship mtg 25 Thu 3pm video mtg (JSh)
27 Sat (1) 11am Commencement speaker at R. University, (2) ~3pm+ time w/ V/AR+ 29 Mon (1) 9:30am VT prayer, (2) 3pm mtg DerCh - Mississauga 30 Tue (1) 10am ph call (AA), (2) 5:30pm video mtg (IsTan), (3) 8pm neighbourhood prayer mtg
JUNE 1 Thu (1) 11:30am Zoom mtg (LM), (2) 4pm mtg (VS,KBr) 2 Fri (1) 10:30am ph call (PVDW; SL w/ boys; ~J working) 3 Sat SL w/ boys and MG 5 Mon (1) 9:30am VT prayer mtg, (2) 2pm Europe call, (3) 5pm mtg/walk (YM) 6 Tue (1) 11:30am lunch (GD) - St. Jacobs, (2) 4pm mtg (AF) - Cambridge, (3) 7:30pm worship night 9 Fri ~J's b'day 10 Sat North Bay trip 13 Tue 11am mtg (DAy) (~J school trip w/ ~Co | text BD) 14 Wed 9:30am time w/ BD 15 Thu 4:30pm video mtg (Paul T.) 16 Fri (1) 9am video med appt, (2) 15-km run (Prayer Journey "warm-up") 17 Sat Prayer Journey (my own: 50km GTA bike-ride; Jessie's: 5KM) and speaking at GTA after-party 23-25 Fri-Sat poss. SL 26 Mon 2pm Europe monthly call 29 ... July 7 Thu-Fri poss. holiday in Arkansas
JULY ... 7 Thu-Fri poss. holiday in Arkansas ~8-17 SA+ in Toronto; P/H Bell likely visiting too 15 Sat aft+ baptism (Saj; NaB may be coming) 17-21 Mon-Fri Kids Kapers camp 24 Mon 2:45pm med. appt 26 Wed (1) 11am video mtg (SM), (2) 3pm Zoom mtg (SMa,SB), (3) 7pm ~J speaking at Greenhouse/Zoe - UofT downtown 27 Thu 10am video MVT board mtg 31 Mon 3:05pm med. appt July/Aug CCWM board mtg / AGM
AUGUST 2 Wed 11am video mtg (SM+) 6-12 Sun-Fri Cottage w/ O/DN+ and UB/AC - Windermere; plus Muskoka 19 Sat poss. ~J fam beach day - Brighton area 25-29 Fri-Tue MoveIn staff retreat - southern Ontario
2023+ Sep 21 Thu - MVT board mtg Sep 23 Sat poss. date of GV memorial Sep 24 Sun ~Ch's b'day Sep ~26-28 Poss. time in Lushnjë, Albania Sep 29 - Oct 6 MoveIn Europe Conference+ - Durrës, Albania Oct 21 Sat poss./unlikely date of GV memorial Oct 21-27 Dollar-a-Day week Early Nov Poss. fundraising event - Niagara Nov-Jan Poss. time in India - Goa; Philippines - Manila+; Indonesia - Jakarta/Bali; LA/San Diego
A couple of weeks ago I asked us to ponder God's goodness. What is it?
God is faithful. God loved you before you were conceived. He loved you through childhood, your teen years, and now. He will love you for the rest of your life. He will love you when things slow down and you finish your years on this earth. He will love you as you fade away - from the minds and memories and hearts and genealogical lists of those who remain. And he will love you into Heaven--if you accepted his love while you were here (John 3:16)--and beyond - as much as he loved you at conception. To me, this is a deeply satisfying thought. It is true of no one else.
God is far beyond you. God is not a slice of your pie. He is not a get-out-jail-free card. He is not your plaything. He is not your magical cure. No, God is far beyond that. He is the center. He is the source. He invites you to receive Him, to receive his salvation, to enter his story, to build his Kingdom, to worship him, to find your satisfaction--the only satisfaction that lasts--in him. And his sovereignty and Kingship and majesty--so far beyond you and I--is also the solution you and I need.
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