DOES the goodness of God lead us to repentance? Can you remember the last time you received, perhaps unexpectedly, unmerited care and love from someone else? At a birthday, when you were poorly, perhaps it was when you most needed it, and indeed least expected to be cared for. Can you remember that loving warm feeling, a feeling of security, of being wanted?
Now it may not happen to us very often, and it may not have happened recently, but we can surely remember an event when we were surprised, almost taken aback, shocked by the thoughtfulness, the care and the love of someone else, given freely to us by someone who went out of their way, went the second mile, took great trouble to show to us care and consideration for our needs. Love and care that is so welcoming is like a shaft of light in a very dark place, warming and secure—like a log fire on a freezing day. Can you remember how you felt, overwhelmed, almost to the extent of being guilty and unworthy of such attention? It is almost certainly a feeling which was only fully appreciated after the event, when there was time to reflect upon the sacrifice of the other person in favour of ourselves. A warm glow that feels like home; the very thought brings a smile to our face when we reflect upon it, a feeling of comfort, security and confidence.
Does it ever motivate us? Does that feeling of warmth and love from someone else spur us to do something, maybe a similar act for others?
God's blessing and our response
Such is the goodness of the Almighty to us. We read in Romans 2.4 this morning: "Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" We have a clear contrast in these opening words of Romans ch. 2. Goodness and reward for righteousness and obedience, punishment for disobedience. It is a very clear and unmistakable equation. We are all well aware of the truth that the Almighty "will render to everyone according to his deeds" (2.6). This is why this time before our memorial meeting is so critical each week for us each to concentrate our minds upon our deeds, reflecting upon what we have or have not done in the previous week and determining what we shall or shall not do in the coming week. We have the positive encouragement ofv.7: "To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life"; though conversely in v.8-9 we have by contrast the warning: "But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil".
We wish as part of our preparation to eat the bread and sip the wine, the symbolic body and blood of our Master, not just to reflect upon, but to completely swathe ourselves in the goodness of Almighty God this morning, but it will require each of us to think for ourselves. An exhortation can only gently guide our pattern of thinking, not do the thinking itself.
We would like to look at the Almighty's goodness in the past. His goodness now and His goodness that is promised in the future for the obedient. We want to study His great benevolent goodness that has been shown to each of us, so that it may be a motivation and an encouragement to build us up, so we may feel not just inclined, but compelled to patient continuance in well doing; and further, to ensure as a personal audit this morning, a review of the Father's goodness, that it may lead us to personal repentance and a rededication to obedience. We would suggest that the goodness of God is so vast that we will only touch the surface of the subject this morning, and to help us do that we would like to divide it into these three specific categories: His past goodness, goodness that occurred before our existence, and the preparation and the provision of our salvation; present goodness as we each experience the warmth of the Almighty's goodness to us in our lives; and finally, the future promise of the life that is in store and the goodness that has been promised to us in the Kingdom of God. As we look at each let us apply the warm feelings of benevolence, let us bathe as we fully absorb the grace, the unrestricted, all-abounding goodness and goodwill, which has been shown to us, so that in gratitude we may respond by showing goodness back, as we have been directed by the apostle Paul this morning, so that it may motivate us towards "patient continuance in well doing".
Looking back
Let us then think of the past great goodness given by the Almighty. "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God". From the beginning of time, the omniscient, omnipotent Father made provision for the Saviour of man. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Have we ever given up anything we truly love for the love of someone else? Abraham demonstrated this incredible dedication and selflessness and he was rewarded for his commitment. Hannah too was given a son when she believed she could not bear. She gave him back to the Lord and we know was rewarded. But the provision of the Lord Jesus Christ could only have been achieved by the Almighty. It is difficult to appreciate fully the abounding love of the Father in His act of giving His Son for each one of us. We reflect upon this fact every week but nonetheless it is hard for us to completely absorb the immensity of this love for us.
We can, in some lesser way perhaps, appreciate the principle of sacrificing the unblemished lamb of the first year required by the Father of the children of Israel. It would have become, no doubt, a loved member of the family during that period. That lamb would have been fed, protected and loved by the children and enjoyed until it was needed to be sacrificed. Sacrificing, giving up voluntarily a beloved pet! For us it would be unthinkable, let alone a firstborn who had always acted to perfection, the model Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. What love has been shown to us by Almighty God! If we ever feel uncared for, if we ever feel for a moment unloved, revel in the thought that the Almighty Creator so loves us that He allowed His only Son to be slain so that we might live. So deep is this demonstration, so beneficent is this display of love that it is difficult for us in our mortality to absorb and therefore demonstrate in return a true gratitude, but try we must.
The past goodness of the Lord is with us all the time in every way and should be the motivation within our lives. But this past goodness did not just permit salvation to the world; more personally it has given to us an ability for us to be adopted as sons of Israel, His peculiar people. Of all the billions of people of all time, we have been called to be related to this wonderful promise. What an incredible privilege we have each been given! So familiar perhaps, that we sometimes gloss over the wonder of the magnificence and the magnanimous goodness of the Lord. How can we fail to be in awe and each day try and repay that goodness as a demonstration of our thanks in some practical way? This is our theme and a personal challenge for each of us this morning.
Our present blessing
Now what of the goodness and love we have been given by the Lord's hand, the present goodness of God? Have we ever made a list of all the wonderful gifts that we have, be they material or physical, that we have been given to possess? To help us focus on the goodness of God this week why not, as a practical exercise, draw up a list of the many blessings we have received; to serve to reinforce just how beneficent our Father is? It should serve as a reminder of some of those things we perhaps take for granted —companionship, fellowship and caring brothers and sisters. Even the most wretched of us are greatly blessed with the bountiful blessings, a demonstration of the goodness of the Lord of all creation. We sometimes look at others, don't we, and see their material blessings, which may be greater than our own. We may see in others personal qualities or attributes that we yearn for. Our neighbours are not our standard for estimating how blessed we are with the goodness of the Lord. We should start from nothing and work upwards. Job said "Naked came I out of my mother's womb ... the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away". And what was the advice Jesus gave his followers? "Seek ye first the kingdom of God ... and all these things shall be added unto you".
But what if our lives seem full of woe? It may not be so easy to discern the goodness of the Almighty when times are difficult—and there is not one amongst us who from time to time does not feel surrounded with despair from all sides. "Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth." This always requires a special attitude, to accept that the medicine that now tastes so bad is in fact for our ultimate good. We know this at an intellectual level, but it is always so hard at a practical everyday level when we experience pain or sadness or disappointment. Yet we know that the pain or sadness or disappointment will end and will not last for ever.
If we feel low for the lack of apparent goodness in our own lives, perhaps we should try and look outside our own sphere just for a moment, to look around us and beyond to the future and try and fill our minds with the beauty of the creation, a mere sample of what is in store for the time to come. This is not an escape or an attempt to avoid addressing those issues that we find so painful, it is purely a positive mental distraction to dilute the negative effects of those sad but inevitable aspects of life. As we try to examine ourselves in the light of the perfect example of our Master, let us lift ourselves up and motivate ourselves towards a patient continuance in well doing, seeking for glory and honour.
But what shall we do next week towards this goal? Will we decide now before we take the emblems?
Looking forward
We consider now the third dimension of our Father's goodness: looking forward to the Kingdom, evidence of promised future goodness. Now what is our personal vision of the Kingdom? Could we describe our understanding of what the Kingdom will be like in detail? Perhaps the extent of the detail in which we would describe the Kingdom is a measure of the strength of that vision. "For the joy that was set before him Jesus endured the cross". The Almighty gave His Son a vivid picture of the Kingdom. This is a measure of how important it is for us to have a clear mental picture of the beauty and the wonder of the goodness which is in store for us if we continue in patient obedience. How clear is our, vision of the Kingdom? The effect of trying to envisage it is potentially a "vicious circle". If the vision is weak, we are less likely to think of it or reflect upon it, therefore we won't often refer to it, and therefore how much of a joy will it be for us to help us to endure our cross? So strong should be our vision that we should be able to refer to it at an instant every day, and arguably the more we think of it the closer we shall be, there will not be room in our lives ultimately for anything else. "Seek ye first the Kingdom", we are exhorted. When we dwell for more than a moment on the subject of the Kingdom and think on just what has been offered to us for obedience, how can we fail to be in awe of the goodness, the great benevolent goodness of our Father, in offering us life for ever in a perfect environment, without pain, without conflict or fear, in total security and in communion with the Creator of the universe?
How can we get motivation from this most spectacular promise unless it is personal to each one of us, unless it lives in our mind and in our lives? It has to mean something for us to help us to patient continuance in well doing.
A balanced view
Before we focus our minds on the greatest act of goodness and selflessness, the ultimate voluntary sacrifice of our Master, we must provide a balance to our feelings. Let us not deceive ourselves. God will not be mocked. Remember the words of Jeremiah which we read the other day: "For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes. And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things... Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know... mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is the Lord" (Jer. 16.17,18,21). Our motivation this week should be the goodness of God, but He is a jealous God and will be reverenced. We know how the Almighty evidenced His grief and His wrath when the life fell from His only dearly beloved Son. The sun was darkened for three hours and Matthew describes what other miraculous events occurred, to illustrate the Almighty's supreme sadness: "And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain... and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; and the graves were opened..." Such was the fearful wrath of the Lord. Let us remember Romans 11.22: "Behold, therefore, the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off." Let us look for the goodness of the Almighty in our lives every day to encourage us, to lift us up, to help us to patiently continue in well doing, for the Almighty will render to every man according to his works.
R.H.