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Is God Good?

Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” – Matthew 6:33

Do you believe that God is good?

To most Christians, this seems to be a pretty obvious question and answer.

“Of course God is Good!”

It’s all around us. We have songs singing about how good God is. We have books telling us. We have posters and memes and sermons and so much more. Of course, God is good. However, that wasn’t the question.

Do YOU BELIEVE that God is good?

Whether God is good or not is not affected by what you or I believe, but how you act towards God is very much affected by whether you believe God is good.

What would make God good?

  • He must come through on His promises.
  • He must provide what is truly needed and helpful.
  • He must act out of loving-kindness, not selfish ambition.

God’s Promise
In our passage from Matthew, we are given a promise. If we seek first the Kingdom of God, God will provide “all these things.” From the surrounding context, we know that “all these things” refers to clothing and food and can infer it means everything we need for this life.

If God is good, He must, therefore, keep His promise and give us what we need. Otherwise, He would be a liar. Numbers 23:19 tells us,

God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind.

He must also give us what is truly needed and helpful. If He gave us the wrong things or harmful things, He would be either incompetent or a deceiver. James 1:17 tells us,

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

He must act out of love or He is just self-seeking and doing this for His own gain. Yet, 1 John 4:10  tells us,

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Our Response
Love always bids a response. It asks us to love in return. It asks us to trust. In the case of Matthew 6:33, God’s love for us tells us to seek His Kingdom first, trusting that our good and loving Father will provide all that we need…and He will. He gives even when we don’t do a good job of seeking His Kingdom. Yet, He still says to do it because He knows that seeking His Kingdom is also good for us.

Heavenly Father,

You care for me more than I know. I know You keep Your promises. I know Your gifts are all good. I know You love me. Help me to trust Your love and Your goodness and seek You in all that I do.

Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt