Christian Walk

Goodness like God

Posted on by Bob Mathews

“And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,” – Ex. 34:6

As we mature in our faith, we want to become more and more like the God we serve. Exodus 34:6 shows us many of God’s attributes that we should strive for as best we can, such as goodness and truth. Paul also teaches us about goodness and truth in Romans 15:14, noting the people in Rome “also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able to admonish one another.”

It is interesting to note that Paul mentions they are full of goodness before he says they are able to admonish one another. This teaches us a pretty important lesson. We are often quick to notice and point out the flaws or sins in someone else’s life. But if we do this without the right spirit (being full of goodness), we will simply pepper them with harsh words that can offend much more than help. When we approach people with a self-righteous and judgmental attitude, they may choose not to hear what we say because of how we say it. If our attempts to correct others begin with our desire to look smarter or godlier, then we are not helping anyone at all.

However, if we are maturing in our faith and becoming more like God, we will be growing in goodness. And when we are full of goodness, our motives in helping others will be pure. The point won’t be how smart we are; the point will be how God may  use us to help another person. And the other person will be more likely to listen to what we have to say, if they can tell it is coming from good intention and love.

Being full of goodness means loving God with all your heart and letting His love and mercy fill your entire life. When you’re full of God’s goodness, it will begin to overflow and have a positive effect on everyone around you. And when others are touched by this godly goodness, they may want to find out where it came from. Then they too can meet the God of goodness who can changer their lives forever. It can all start with you!

The Glass House

Posted on by Bob Mathews

People at times refer to their lives as being like a glasshouse. Everything they do and every choice they make can be seen and is scrutinized by the surrounding public. This idea of living in a glass house can be seen in scripture. In Joshua 22 the tribes that return to their land across the Jordan River build an altar that the tribes that stayed in Canaan take offense to. In this event, we see two points that can help us deal with and avoid conflict in the future with our brethren and people outside the church.

The first point we see in this event is that, although what was done by those tribes seemed to be offensive and against the will of God, the western tribes did not immediately attack them for the wrong they committed. They sent an emissary first to get to the bottom of the problem and find out if the eastern tribes realized what they had done. Because they sent this emissary they were are able to find out that the altar was made to be a memorial not an offense to God. We need to remember that we may see things in a different way than what they are meant. We need to be careful not to jump to conclusions and make problems when there are none.

The second point we see in this event is that the things we do are seen by others. The building of this altar was seen by the other tribes and mistaken for something it wasn’t. We need to understand that things we do can be misconstrued for something that it was intended to be. We need to be ready to explain ourselves in a way that is not disrespectful to those who have questions. We need to be humble like the eastern tribe and be willing to be corrected if we are in the wrong.

We as Christians need to live in a glass house in the sense that what we do is transparent and our actions can be easily identified by those watching. We need to approach others in love when problems arise so that we don’t make problems where there are none. If we are doing the work of the Lord, then we should have no problem living in a glass house so others can see who we are.

Jacob Saarloos