Goodness

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

Galatians 5:22

As a pseudo-writer, the word 'good' feels weak. I would rather describe something with a more colorful and visual word. Even when I was in school, my teachers would encourage us to use a different word to describe something as good. That word gets overused so much that it feels very bland.

How was your day today?                 Good.
How is your cheese pizza?                Good.
It's been so long! How are you?        Good!
What did you think of the movie?     Oh, it was good.

In Bible times, in order to get a point across, writers were redundant. They would repeat the word or phrase many times to get the message across that what they were saying was important. The concordance in my Bible lists 54 verses that contain the word 'good' which means that from the Bible's perspective, 'good' is far from bland.  'Good' is used to describe what God makes (Genesis 1, 1 Timothy 4:4) or God's character (Matthew 19:17, Psalm 34:8, 86:5). I think in today's culture, people - especially non-Christians - have a hard time viewing God as good. They see pain, suffering, sickness, hatred, war and destruction all around them and wonder how a "good God" could allow these things to happen. Some believe that these misfortunes are punishments to appease a vengeful God. I would image that people in Bible times had similar thoughts. Life was even harder then without the luxuries we have today. God does see the pain, the suffering, the sickness, the hatred, wars and destruction all around us. And he weeps with us. God doesn't revel in our low moments. He whispers encouragement to us and helps us up. In the verses below, Jesus describes what the Father is really like -  and He would know; He is his Son.

Matthew 7:9-12
“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."

What Jesus is trying to explain here is that we, as loving parents, wouldn't be cruel to our children, and in the same way, God won't be cruel to us because we are his children. 1 John 3:1 says, "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!"  He wants to pour his love on us. He wants to send down his blessings. We don't deserve it, but we are his children. Aren't we like that as parents? Don't we want to "lavish" our kids? I hate clutter and excess toys with a passion, but sometimes when I am out, I see something cool and want to buy it for Zachary or Sadie - not because they necessarily deserve it but because I love them and I want to make them happy. Our Heaven Father is the same way. Romans 8:32 says, "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"

Talk about the ultimate gift! And a GOOD one at that! Romans 8:32 shows how good God is. He could have kept his most precious Son at his side. He could have spared Jesus from a gruesome death, but he didn't. And Jesus was willing to go because God knew that this was what was best for his kids. He wanted to have a relationship with us but we messed everything up with our ugly sin. So the best gift we ever got was that of Christ who came and repaired our relationship with the Father.

God is good all the time and all the time God is good.

 Weekly Parent Goals:
1. Learn what gifts your Father has given you.

I am a  personality test junkie. I have taken the Myers Briggs, Strengths Finder, Love Languages and Spiritual Gifts quizzes. I am fascinated by how we are all so different. Knowing the gifts that we have been given by our Father helps us to know how we can further aide the Body of Christ through acts of service. It can also help us in our marriages and our parenting by using our strengths to help us instead of focusing on where we are lacking. Click on the link below to learn more about your spiritual gifts that God has given you!

Spiritual Gifts Test


2. Thank the Father for his good gifts to you.

We moms know how frustrating it can be when we do something nice for our little people without a simple thank you. It is always nice to be recognized for doing something nice. We owe all that we have and all that we are to our Heavenly Father, so it is vital that we thank him for all the blessings he has given us. Practice thanking him periodically during the day. When you wake up, thank him for another day, sun for a pool day or rain for your plants. Thank him for the meals that are on your table. Thank him for your family. Thank him for making the flowers look and smell so lovely. Thank him for giving you a hunky spouse (a little shout out to Troy Carlson!) The possibilities are endless. Not only does thanking the Lord make you aware of what he has done for you, it is a great way to pull yourself out of a lousy or crabby mood.

This week's application for kids:
1. Bless your kiddos.

In my previous posts I have used blessings written by Mary Ruth Swope in her book, The Power of Blessing Your Children. She says in her book, "One thing should be clear: we have the ability to influence both our personal lives and the future of our nation through the powerful act of speaking blessings. It is a foundation stone for successful family and community living." Of the many blessings she has listed in her book, there is not one general blessing on goodness, but there is a section where the reader can write his/her own blessings, so I wrote my own blessing this week on goodness.

In the name of Jesus:

I bless you with the awareness of God's faithful goodness. May you always be able to recognize his great love for you through the gifts he has given you. Be sure not to compare your gifts with others, as we were all created for different but intentional purposes.

I bless you with the ability to actively and cheerfully thank the Lord for what he has given you, both tangible and not. I also bless you with the ability to give good gifts to others with your time and resources.

May you always know that God's goodness and love will always follow you all the days of your life.

2. Try and activity that explains goodness to your kids.

Just as our Heavenly Father gives us good gifts, we try to give good gifts to our children. This week, give your children a good gift. For example, maybe your daughter loves playing dress up. Pull out your good dishes, put on fancy dresses and have a tea party. Eat little cakes and talk in silly accents as you sip your tea. Maybe you give her a cheap feather boa from the party store to wear. Or maybe your son like to play war games (as many boys do) outside. Get a bucket and fill it with water balloons and a couple of water guns and have a water fight in the back yard. We like to take Zachary swimming. Our community pool is half off after 5pm. It is an inexpensive way to show our son goodness. Your gift could be something simple and cheap like a feather boa or water balloons, but the real gift is your time and recognition of a game or activity that your child loves. When you're done playing, relax together and ask your child why he/she think you did that activity. Tell them it is because you love them and you love to see them happy. In the same way our Heavenly Father loves them too - even more than Mommy and Daddy - and he loves to give them good gifts too. Talk about the gifts the Lord has given your children. Maybe your child is a gifted reader/artist/athlete, or maybe your child is compassionate/driven/organized. These are all gifts that the Lord has given us. Help your children recognize that they were "wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14) by the Father.

3. Weekly Scripture Challenge.
Try to memorize this verse this week as a reminder of our focus for the week. Encourage your children to do so also!  

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

James 1:17

Be sure to share your experiences with this topic. What did you learn about yourself/your kids/the Lord? What activities did you do with your kids to teach them about goodness? I would love to hear them!