Goodness of God

1/12/15             Jose                about 30

Most people agree that God is good, but what are the implications of His “goodness”?  People who trust their own ideas about God rather than His revelation of Himself in the Bible often rule out anything about God that appears to conflict with their ideas of what “goodness” is.  A young man named Jose, whom I talked with while shopping at a thrift store today, refuses to accept much of the Bible for this reason. Much of what God does in the Bible doesn’t seem to Jose to be “good” However, in speaking for the Biblical understanding of God, I appealed to some implications of God’s goodness that Jose hadn’t considered.  For example, Jose believes that God has created him, and that He did so for a reason, so I asked if a good God would keep secrets from people so they are left to their imaginations about God and His purposes, or would God actively reveal Himself as He has done through scripture?  Or, another example - would a good God get angry?  At first glance Jose thought He would not, so I asked if it would be good for God to get angry at sin such as, say, child molestation.  Would not such an anger be “good”?  Also, we easily believe God is good and loves people because of His goodness, but would not a love for justice also be good?  What are the implications of the justice of a good and holy God? Peter writes that God has “called us by his own glory and goodness”.  (2 Peter 1:2)  Yes, we come to God because God is good.  But “good” doesn’t just mean “nice”.  Sometimes “goodness” means that God is nothing less than a consuming fire.