– Something Good –
Sometimes the last thought at the end of the day, or the first thought in the morning to some extent, holds the words, “maybe something good will happen to me today…maybe tomorrow “. Sometimes its just a passing thought barely processed and sometimes it becomes a solid block of thought that consumes our mind for a while. From spending time with people that suffer, especially prisoners, so many tell me that they constantly think and hope that maybe, just maybe today something good will happen. Maybe they will get a visitor, maybe their lawyer will have good news… maybe… Each of us at some time think that maybe…maybe today Ill get a special phone call, or meet someone, or find something special, or win something…maybe.
But the reality is that not only do good things not happen like we would like, but often, lots of bad things happen! And we think, ‘If God is good, why doesn’t He just make good things happen to us all the time?’ But you know what? Let me tell you something profound. Please try to really think about this. Something good already happen. Although it was a long time ago, it was so good, so phenomenal, that it could be THEE “something good” for each of us for all generations for all time.
A Father, sent His Son who gave His life to the world. Jesus bore our sin, was crucified and then rose from the dead, conquering death once for all. This one act was so right, so perfect and so good that it is the only act we ever need. We do not need any “good experience”, but rather to believe in what Jesus experienced 2000 years ago on a cross on a hill called calvary.
“God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rm.5:8). Continuous action, He “demonstrates His OWN LOVE” . Now that is so good. The world is full of suffering and injustice because it belongs to the devil (1Jn.5:19). That is why so many bad things happen. But the good thing that God did is so great, if you believe in Him, His work will be your “something good” forever. Actually, your focus will shift to caring about others and you will now choose to be “something good” for someone else.
Imagine if you spent all your savings and gave a little child the ultimate present for no reason. Lets say a pony, a puppy or bike, whatever would have been the best thing that child could imagine. Then lets say that a few days later the child asked you for something else, then something else the next week, then something else. And if you just constantly gave the child anything and everything, the child would very quickly forget the precious, original gift you gave him and it would become, as nothing. The gift that the Father gave us when He gave us His son, was so great, so good and so final, that nothing else is needed.
So lets stop waiting for something good to happen, because it already did. Rather let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Good Shepherd.
“I Say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing (Ps.16:2).”