Goodness

In Luke 15:11-32, we see a very interesting story. A certain man who had two sons had his youngest ask for his inheritance. He received it and went to a far country. He did nothing but squander the possessions he had acquired. He was then met with an unexpected turn of events; a famine. What’s more? He began to be in want as the Bible says in verse 14. He had to find someone who could be of help and this person in question actually sent this youngest son who had lived a rather prodigal life, to feed pigs. He then saw an opportunity to fill his stomach with the pods the pigs ate because no one gave him anything.

One day he realised he had messed up. He came to his senses and decided to go back to his father to work as a servant since he knew how well his father treated his servants. Remember he was home before he went out to live wildly. So he went to his father but rather unexpectedly, his father, when he saw this son a long way off, felt compassion for him and actually ran, embraced and kissed him. Can you imagine his reaction? How would you react if you were in the shoes of this son? Just something to think about.

Now this son did admit he was wrong, and apologised and realised the intensity of his behaviour and was pleading to be hired as a servant. Paul in Galatians 4:1 said as long as an heir is a child, he is no better off than a slave though he owns everything. In other words, the heir can be the owner but his mindset or disposition sets him lower than a slave – or better still said- a slave is better than him. What we can learn from here is that there are mindsets and dispositions we can adopt that would actually limit us from living fully-fletched as children of God and co-heirs with Christ Jesus. What kind of mindset do you currently possess? What are the limitations? What are the areas you can improve? Carefully ponder (it will be helpful to write down as someone said, “the shortest pencil is longer than the longest memory”)

Anyway, back to our discussion. We see after his plea to his father that his father had different plans, really. It was rather a time for celebration because the lost son had returned. His father described the experience in Luke 15:24 NASB as “…for this son of mine was dead and has come back to life again; he was lost but has been found“. Two expressions; dead to life; and lost but found. Dead to life. Lost but found. Dead to life! Lost but found!

We want to understand what goodness is in our discourse. According to the Oxford dictionary, goodness means the quality of being morally good or virtuous.

According to Strong’s lexicon, the word goodness comes from the Greek word “agathosune” derived from (agathos) meaning “good” meaning intrinsic goodness, especially as a personal quality, with stress on the kindly (rather than the righteous) side of goodness. This is the same word used for goodness in Galatians 5:22 (part of our core text over the course of this series) which speaks about the Fruit of the Spirit.

What are the implications of this?

We have been born of an imperishable seed (cf. 1 Peter 1:23), the bible says. As a result, over time we must see the growth of this seed into a tree that bears fruit. In this context, we must see the outputs of goodness. What then are the pointers to a life bearing fruit of goodness?

The true test will be the character of goodness showing forth in the works of a person over time. Time will tell. We see that goodness is a state of being, first. The state of being definitely has an impact in relationships simply because we are social beings. We are created to relate.

Luke 6:44-46 has this to say, “⁴⁴ for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. ⁴⁵ The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks“

We can establish from this passage in Luke 6 that a tree is known by its fruit. As a result, the good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good and the evil person, evil because out of the abundance or the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.

Referring to the story of the father of the prodigal son, we see that the father did not lash out on the son. He forgave the son (telling by the progression of his actions) and gently corrected him and his actions. He was anticipating the return of the son. He felt compassion on the son and received him.

We can tell he was a good father because of his actions and his words to both sons. Through his actions, we see how he welcomed his son who had lived a life not-so-pleasing to his father as he had messed up. Secondly, we see how this good father took time to reason with his eldest son who wasn’t happy about the turn of events (Pause and reflect: Have you ever felt like this son and why?). In both instances, we can see gentleness and respect. The father acknowledged, for one, his flaw, and the other his feelings, and proceeded to meet their needs respectively. He made time for both to ensure they were on the right track.

Friends, we need to understand that we have been made good through the redemption of Jesus Christ and by His Spirit living inside of us. We who have been called to good works ought to do such. We don’t do these to be good. On the contrary, we do these because we are good by the outworking of the power of the Holy Spirit resident in the life of the believer. We therefore owe it as a responsibility to do good while applying wisdom from above.

Also, to impress one more thing; the Bible says out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. In other words, the overflow of a vessel(whether opaque or transparent) with a substance brings out the substance. If your state of being is goodness, there will be outflows of goodness. You will see it in the attitude or character although this time around, I want to shift your attention to the source – the state of being in the heart. We are to be filled with the Holy Spirit but in this dimension, goodness. This can only be done through prayer because it is only the one whose goodness or loving devotion endures forever can empower us to live as He is.

How then shall we live?

Adopt a mindset to do good, make up your mind to find and utilize the opportunities for doing good, and be renewed in your mind by the help of the Spirit of God(Romans 12:1,2) to do it. We can only be good because God is good, He’s made us good, and our relationship with Him through the redemption of Jesus Christ on the cross that has brought the Holy Spirit to be resident in us can make us do good works. In Ephesians 2:10, Paul writes that we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ to do good works, prepared in advance for us to do.

It is possible to live and practice goodness in this day and age. This is the reason why you need the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Make sure you’re spending time with Him to know Him more and you will know that indeed He leads. God is good therefore His goodness by the outworking of His Holy Spirit’s power must be seen consistently in our lives. It takes being in tune with Him, and adopting the mindset of Christ to achieve this. Your will isn’t enough, it must be empowered by the Lord Holy Spirit.

This cannot be however if you are not in a relationship with Jesus. If you want to start off with Him, I humbly invite you to say with all sincerity while reading this, “Dear Jesus, I come to you today. I confess my sins and renounce my friendship with the systems of the world. I choose to have you as Lord and personal saviour over my life. I declare I am yours this day and you are mine. Fill me with your precious Holy Spirit I pray, amen.”

Welcome to the family of God. Feel free to talk to a Bible-believing church or your Christian friend about your decision or simply reach out to me via the comments or email and we can proceed from there.

God bless you all.

Shalom shalom!