God is good/ All the time.
And all the time/ God is good.

This is a timeless truth, and a fun saying to drum up excitement in a church service. It’s easy to talk about God’s goodness. God is unchangingly good. But this attribute of God is surprisingly hard to define. We think we know what it means until we try to explain it.

We usually list other attributes that are related but not quite the same. Loving, gracious, kind. Or we say things that He does. God helps us. God protects us. God provides for us. We really need to think about what we mean – or should mean – when we confess that God is good.

One helpful thing is to figure out what it doesn’t mean. By goodness we don’t mean that God is relatively good to something or someone else. When we say, “That pizza is good,” we mean, “Of all the pizzas out there, this is one of the better ones.” God isn’t good because he’s better than the other gods in the world.

What is the divine goodness of God? It is the bounty of God, liberally given and spilling over. God communicates blessings to all of his creations, especially humans whom He created in His image and likeness. God’s goodness is the opposite of cruelty and heartlessness. God’s goodness is the sweetness, friendliness, benevolence and generosity overflowing on us for our enjoyment. It is the sum of all God’s attributes.

When we think of God’s goodness, there are common goodness and eternal goodness. Common goodness is extended to everyone. Eternal goodness is extended to the ones who put their faith in God.

A Scripture about common goodness…

Matthew 5:43-45 NIV
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

A Scripture about eternal goodness…
Lamentations 3:22-26 NIV

22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
 for his compassions never fail.
 23 They are new every morning;
 great is your faithfulness.
 24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
 therefore I will wait for him.” 25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
 to the one who seeks him;
 26 it is good to wait quietly
 for the salvation of the Lord.

How many times do we go through life without noticing the goodness of God? We can see His goodness in at least three ways.

In Creation
God was good, is good, and ever more will be good. God poured out His goodness on all of creation, and said it was good. Genesis 1:27 (NIV) tells us that “God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” This time God said it was very good. Unfortunately Adam and Eve disobeyed God and barely had time to enjoy His goodness. All creation was marred when sin entered the world. Still God continues to bless us with His goodness. Psalm 33:5 tells us, “The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD” (NASB).

My husband loves the ocean. It’s his happy place where he is in touch with God and His goodness. I love watching the sunset on a clear evening. My heart dances with the beautiful colors. When I look up at the multitudes of stars, I am in awe of God and marvel at His loving goodness for little ole’ me. What do you enjoy of God’s creation? It’s His good gift to you.

In His Care
God created the world, and He sustains all that He has made.
Colossians 1:15-17 says this about God the Son:
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together (NIV).

God in His goodness did not set the world in motion and then remove Himself. He is actively involved in caring for it and for us.

If we think about it, everything we have comes from God. The air that we breathe, our hearts that keep beating, the strength we have to do our jobs, His healing touch when we are sick, the joy we experience in retirement. You can add to your own list.

We can rest in God’s goodness and in how much He loves us.

In Redemption
The Latin word “redemptio” literally means “to buy back.” Humanity fell and sin entered the world. There is a horrific penalty for sin, and all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The penalty we incur is spiritual death, separation from God’s presence forever. The end of our life would be utterly hopeless except for God’s goodness. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died on the cross and rose again, buying us back from the penalty of sin. Through our trust in Jesus, we are redeemed. He bought us back and has given us new life.

God had no need of creating the world, and He had even less need of redeeming it. People can do nothing to deserve God’s goodness, but He made a way for us to enjoy an eternal relationship with Him through the suffering and humiliation of Christ. God runs to us faster than we run to Him. That’s the goodness of God.

It’s one thing to mentally assent to God’s truth. It’s another to practice what we know to be true.

How Do We Respond to God’s Unchanging Goodness?

Meditate on God’s many blessings to us.
Meditation goes beyond mental reflection or thinking about God’s goodness. It is a deep contemplation. Let the goodness of God shape who you are and how you see the world. Don’t take it for granted. A deliberate rumination on the goodness of God should make us humble, patient, and trusting. It should also make us grateful.

Don’t grumble, “Why me, Lord?” when bad things happen to you. Instead when good things happen to you, exclaim, “Why me, Lord? Thank you, Jesus, for your goodness!”

God shares His infinite goodness with us. This should prompt us to worship Him with a thankful heart.

Share God’s blessings with others.
Freely we have received; let’s freely give. Let our hearts be generous toward all, just as God is generous toward us. We follow the example of Jesus and love our enemies – those who misunderstand us, mistreat us, post mean things on social media about us, and those who hate us. We treat with respect people who believe differently than us and live differently than us. We care for those who are hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, in prison, and oppressed. God has opened His heart of goodness to us. Let ours not be shut to anyone.

Call to Action
How does knowing that God is unchangingly good make a difference in your life?
How will you pay more attention to God’s goodness?
How will you show God’s goodness to someone this week?