“And He said, ‘I will make all my goodness pass before you.'” Exodus 33:19
Dear Ones:
There is always the human tendency to blame God for all that is wrong in the world, especially when it comes to suffering. And yet, the testimony of Scripture is so very clear: “And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was VERY GOOD.” (Genesis 1:31) The creation, before what we call, “the fall of man,” was the great expression of His goodness. It was not until Adam disobeyed God, that “death and the curse” were in our cup. From that day on, the suffering and sin in this world has multiplied as the number of people on this globe has increased. One of the main things that differentiates sinful man from God has to do with the issue of sin and suffering. Whereas man will seek to blame God for all that is wrong in the world, God has actually stooped down in the Person of His Son, and taken the sin and suffering upon Himself. Though man may try to lessen, and mitigate the effects of sin, from a spiritual standpoint, there is nothing in and of himself, that he can do to remedy the matter, especially with regard to the consequence of death and destruction. However, God HAS done it. Mrs. Cousin put it so eloquently in a hymn: “Death, and the curse were in our cup, O Christ, ’twas full for Thee. But Thou hast drained the last dark drop, ‘Tis empty now for me. That bitter cup, love drank it up; Now blessings’ draught for me.” God in Christ is NOT the reason for sin, sorrow, and suffering, but He IS the remedy…the only one.
When the angel came and revealed himself to the shepherds shortly after Jesus’ birth, he made a remarkable declaration: “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you GOOD TIDINGS of great joy, which shall be to all people.” (Luke 2:10) These “good tidings” are the extension of the heart God, reaching down into the darkness of sin, suffering, and sorrow, to not only give us the light of hope, but the certainty of power to escape. In the words of Isaiah, and later of Christ, He explains it: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, He…hath anointed Me…and hath sent Me…to bind up (comfort and heal) the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.” (Is.61:1) What is He saying? Christ not only came as the true light into this world of spiritual darkness, but has taken upon Himself the cause and effects of sin, with regard to our guilt before God, but also, with respect to the very law of sin in our natures, hearts. Christ has broken the power of the principle of the dark, downward trend of sin, by overcoming it, but also, by giving us the power of the Spirit of God to “reign in life.”
Dear Father, Thy goodness has extended deeper into this darkness than we could ever have imagined. We praise Thee for taking the initiative, even before the foundation of the world, to save us…forgive, deliver, and strengthen us to live in the light, and no more in the darkness. Open our eyes to see Thy goodness, and to grasp in the greatest measure possible the good tidings of which the angel spoke. We thank Thee. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad