In previous articles I wrote here in our blog, I introduced you to the idea of God being unchanging (“Even in the midst of chaos, God is still unchanging”) and omnipresent (“Your desires are important to God”). In last week’s article, we also talked a little more about the love of God (“A brief letter about love”). However, is God really good?
When we say that someone is good, normally it is because we saw something in her/ him that made us think that. A “good person” may be someone that likes to help others, a careful person. Goodness can be seen in a person that aims to share its abilities with others, being more focused on helping others in need than on herself/ himself. Overall, we can say that a good person is not self centered. Throughout the Bible, we can see many verses about the goodness of God. “The Lord is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made” (Psalms 145:9). “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.” (1 Chronicles 16:34). “They speak of the glorious splendor of Your majesty – and I will meditate on Your wonderful works. They tell of the power of Your awesome works – and I will proclaim Your great deeds. They celebrate Your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of Your righteousness” (Psalms 145:5-7). However, what does really mean saying that God is good? Let me tell you a story that will exemplify the goodness of God.
The book of Genesis tells us that God created the Earth. And, after creating the sun, the moon, the seas, vegetation and all kinds of animals, God created mankind “in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27). Not only that, He also blessed them, by putting them in a garden full of provision called Garden of Eden. The male was called Adam, and the female was named Eve. Adam and Eve were supposed to enjoy the Garden, while Adam had the mission of taking care of everything. There was just one simples rule: “And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die'” (Genesis 2:16-17).
Now, imagine with me: Adam and Eve, after being created, were put in a place full of provision and beauty – Genesis 2 tells that, in the Garden, there were all kinds of trees, and they were pleasing to the eye and good for eating. They had everything they could ever want and much more. Besides that, everyday, they had the opportunity of enjoying God’s company. They had a relationship with God. There was only one simple rule in the midst of all of this: not eating from the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They could eat the fruits of any tree with the exception of that one.
But, if the fruit of that tree was not supposed to be eaten, why did God put that tree there? Man was created in the likeness of God, to take care of the Earth, to rule and to govern over all animals here. There was something divine in this creation. There was a relationship between man and God, a divine communication. Man would rule over the Earth through a Godly inspiration; his actions would be inspired by God through that communication. Therefore, God did not create man for him to be just a blind servant with a blind obedience. Obviously, God did not want man to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, but he was looking for a sincere obedience of the heart. As I said, God wanted a relationship with man, and a relationship includes communication between both parts – God understanding the desires of man and man understanding the heart of God.
However, despite having all the provision needed and inspired authority to rule over the Earth, man chose to disobey God. He chose to eat from the fruit that was prohibited to be eaten, as we can see written in Genesis 3. Right after realizing their sin, Adam and Eve tried to hide from God in fear. They knew that they had disobeyed. They had cut that divine and perfect communication they had with their Creator. Their actions could no longer be inspired by Him. They had to live outside of the Garden.
However, God did not destroy man. He is the Creator and He is all powerful. He had the power to destroy mankind and to create a new kind of man, one without the possibility of sinning. But God is compassionate. He did not destroy His own creation. Instead, He made a plan to establish that divine connection with man again. He sent His Son – Jesus Christ – to come to Earth as a man. While He was here, He taught man how to live according to Godly principles, how to be compassionate and abounding in love. He taught man how to live again. But a sacrifice was necessary. A righteous man had to die in order to save humanity from their own sins. Jesus was the only truly righteous man Earth had met. So He gave Himself as the ultimate sacrifice, taking with Him all the sins of mankind, so that man would have the opportunity of having that divine connection established again.
As we see in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life”. Now, the ones that truly believe in the sacrifice of Jesus and accept Him in their hearts receive the opportunity of living a renewed life, an inspired life. A life full of purpose. Now, we have the opportunity of having a much deeper connection with God, not only a relationship with a Creator with His creature, but a relationship of a Father with His sons and daughters. We have the opportunity to be sons and daughters of God, being treated as children of the King. God loved man so much that He gave us a new chance, by giving His Son. That is a powerful proof of love. The most powerful proof of love that you will ever see throughout your entire life. There is no love like God’s love for us.
So, is God good? Yes! He created man as His likeness; in the moment of creation, He put something from Himself inside of man. God is almighty, and, since creation, He wants to share Himself with man. He wants to inspire man. Every day, He can help you. He cares about you. He loves you. And He loved us so much that, even after man choosing to disobey, He had a perfect plan to reconnect us to Him. He did not force that reconnection; He gave us a choice. All of us have the option of choosing to accept the sacrifice of Jesus or not. However, I have got to tell you that a life connected with God is a superior kind of life. God is indeed a good Father.