Pastor Larry Sundin
Turn on the news today or any day for that matter and all you hear anymore is bad news. For some reason, good news isn’t all that newsworthy. In fact, in light of recent events: the fires in California, the rise of the Delta variant, the devastation in Haiti, the tragedy of the Afghanistan pullout, and the destruction left in the wake of yet another hurricane, I think I can assume that we all could use some good news. So, let me share some good news with you if you’re willing to read on. Here’s the good news: God is good. And let me take it one step further: God is good to all.
Now, you may find it easier to say, “Where is God?” rather than “God is good.” And I can understand your sentiment. After all, when you are fed a steady diet of grief, destruction, tragedy, hatred, sickness, suffering, conflict, and death, it’s easy to question the goodness of God. I get that. It’s even pretty convenient to blame God for all the troubles in the world. But that doesn’t mean that God is absent or isn’t actively doing good in the world He created. So, I’ll say it again. God is good. And He has always been good. In fact, one of my favorite scriptures tells us that His goodness is unlimited—that you, me, and even some of the most wicked people on this planet are recipients of His goodness. In the Bible, Psalm 145:9 declares, “The Lord is good to all, and His mercy is over all that He has made.”
So, I’ll say it again: God is good. Even in a world that seems to be filled with non-stop chaos, sickness, suffering, hatred, and violence, God has never stopped being good. Think about the good things in your life: every meal, every pleasure, every possession, every bit of sunshine, every night’s sleep, every moment of health and safety, and anything and everything else that might sustain and enrich your life, all that is good—it all comes from God, and He is good to all.
And think about the abundance of His goodness to you. Everything about your body attests to the goodness of your Maker. How suited are your hands to perform the work you needed to do to get to the place where you can enjoy retirement? How suited are your eyes to take in the beauty of God’s creation around us, or to communicate love, disappointment, or joy? How good is it for God to allow sleep to restore your wearied body? And think of all the pleasures God gives you to enjoy. God might have been pleased to satisfy your hunger without giving you such an abundant variety of fruits, vegetables, spices, meats, and breads. He could have been meager in meeting your basic needs. But no, God gave you the senses of taste and smell, and an abundance of foods and delights to gratify those senses. But there’s more: How good is it for God to give you friends and family and even a soulmate to share this journey? God may well have deprived you of so many blessings, comforts, and pleasures—but He’s given you an abundance of blessings to enjoy.
Oh sure, our world continues to experience sickness, suffering, disappointments, broken relationships, loss, fires, pandemics, and evil—but when you weigh it all out, the balance of good in our world far outweighs the bad. God is good to all. But sometimes He works through the people He created to prove His goodness.
You see, I have the privilege of pastoring a group of people who’ve been blessed by the goodness of God. I get to see the fruit of their goodness every day. Sometimes that goodness comes in small ways through encouraging words, or the simple gift of a meal to a friend who is hurting. Other times, it’s little acts of kindness that go unnoticed. Almost every week I see goodness personified whenever new people are welcomed and new friendships emerge in the name of Jesus. And this month, I get to see the goodness of God through the enormous generosity and service of all those involved in giving and packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. So, let me encourage you this month. If you’re one who’s been wondering, “Where is God?” in all the craziness of this world, let me encourage you to come and see if God is good.
Come and join us for worship in the ballroom. Come and join us as we launch Operation Christmas Child. And come and see that God really is good to all, and He’s never stopped being good, even to ordinary people like us, who make up Rock Springs Church! We still believe that God is good. And we hope you’ll see His goodness in us.