Goodness

But the fruit of the Spirit is

love, joy, peace,

patience, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Against such things there is no law.

- Galatians 5:22, 23

Now the LORD descended in the cloud

and stood with him there,

and proclaimed the name of the LORD.

And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed,

"The Lord, the Lord God,

merciful and gracious,  longsuffering,

and abounding in goodness and truth...

- Exodus 34:5, 6

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,

and comes down from the Father of lights,

with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

- James 1:17

Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance,

and longsuffering, not knowing that

the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

- Romans 2:4

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;

Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

- Psalm 34:8

Today we celebrated my granddaughter Olivia's fifth month of life. Every month of this first year of her life, I post a prayer blessing for her. 

I am taking one component of the nine-faceted fruit of the Spirit for the first nine blessings I'm doing for her. This month, I am asking the Holy Spirit to plant the seed of goodness in her heart, and that this facet of the fruit will be evident in her when she grows up.

From the very first chapter of the Bible, we are already introduced to the goodness of God. 

The very first thing that strikes me in this creation story is the kind of heart our Creator God has. God looks at what He creates at the end of each day; what He sees is good. 

And at the end of six days, the Bible says that God saw everything He had made, and indeed it was very good.

If God who is a perfect Being, declares that something is very good, then it really must be very good.

One of my favorite Old Testament passages is found in Exodus 34. When Moses asked God to show him His glory, God responds to this request by proclaiming His own name to Moses: 

Now the LORD descended in the cloud

and stood with him [Moses] there,

and proclaimed the name of the LORD.

And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed,

"The LORD, the LORD God, 

merciful and gracious, longsuffering,

and abounding in goodness and truth..."

- Exodus 34:5, 6

Abounding in goodness and truth. That is how God describes Himself.

Goodness is at the heart of our God. At the very center of His character and attributes lies goodness.

Power and might would be terrifying in the hands of someone who is not good.

Knowledge is dangerous in the mind of someone who is not good.

And as I think on the attributes of God as being All-Powerful, Almighty, and All-Knowing, I can trust Him because He is a good God.

How reassuring and comforting as well to know that it was a good God who planned for and created this universe in which we live. 

He has thought of everything we will need... including the need to be redeemed and ransomed from the land of death.

When Adam and Eve chose to disobey Him, God already knew beforehand what was going to happen, and He had a plan for our salvation. 

The salvation plan would come at great cost to Himself, the death of His only beloved Son, but the victory and the glory that would come as a result, not to mention the eternal defeat of the enemy of our souls, would make it all worthwhile.

And that is what God's goodness is all about. It is not passive goodness... it is active goodness.

God's goodness has an objective... that we and the rest of His creation may benefit from it.

The Greek word translated "goodness," agathosune, is defined as "uprightness of heart and life." Agathosune is goodness for the benefit of others, not goodness simply for the sake of being virtuous.

(The Fruit of the Holy Spirit-What is Goodness?)

And because goodness is one of the facets of the fruit of the Spirit, even if the Bible says that no one is good but God alone, it is still possible for you and me to have a measure of goodness; the Holy Spirit can help us bear the spiritual fruit of goodness.

Here's my prayer blessing for my dear grandchild:

My dear granddaughter Olivia, Peaceful One...

As you turn five months old, I bless you with a heart that will experience and appreciate the goodness of God.

You are surrounded by so much love and goodness, dear child!

How I pray that none of the goodness that is being poured on you by your parents, brother, and extended family be wasted.

May your young heart be shaped by all the goodness that you are receiving.

I pray that as you grow up, you will grasp and understand the goodness of God at work.

May goodness be a part of your character, dearest child!

And my prayer for you today is that you will not belittle or turn your back on the riches of God's goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering... rather, the goodness of God will lead you to repentance, and that you will come to know Jesus as your Redeemer, Savior, and Lord, even at an early age.

You are such a gift to our family, and my heart overflows with love for you!

Thanking God for you,

Nana