On Doing Good
“Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?’
So Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.’”
Mark 10:17-18
Lately I’ve been thinking - what defines good for us? What standard do we use to measure good and bad?
In the conversation quoted above, Jesus is talking with a man who wants to get into Heaven. “Good Teacher, what must I do?” he asks. Jesus answers his question, but He starts by pointing out how the man addressed Him.
Good Teacher.
Jesus highlights a couple important things in His response. First, He draws the connection between Himself and God; they are the same Person. And second, He gives the standard of good: Himself.
He is the only One who is inherently good. He is the One who defines good; we don’t and can’t. But there is hope for us sinners - Jesus covers us with His righteousness, and gives us the ability to do good as well. Thank Him for that!
Since He is the true standard of good and bad, right and wrong, we need to model our lives after Him and what He does. You and I both know - we get to know Him and how He works through Scripture. We won’t be able to model our lives after Him if we aren’t faithfully in His Word! (And by now you know my favorite reading plan, the Bible Reading Challenge. Join us!)
In this time of turmoil and chaos, when things come to us disguised as “good” when in fact they are not - it’s important for us to know how to conduct ourselves. All things will be held accountable before the Lord someday; Heaven forbid we were lazy in learning how to be like our Savior.
Dig in, sisters. Surround yourself with Scripture, and pray that God would give you wisdom and clarity. He will honor that, and He will guide you!
For practical pointers, turn to Proverbs. Read it through a couple times, and keep in mind that a lot of what God teaches us there is contrary to how the world would have it. Use Scripture to interpret Scripture; that’s how God designed it.
As a way to test your progress, reflect on the fruit of the Spirit as evidenced in your life:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”
Galatians 5:22-23
Are you joyful despite the horrible news released each day? Do you have peace, knowing that God truly is in control? When your kids need to be corrected yet again, are you faithful to do it? Is there kindness in your words to your husband after a long day?
I ask myself these same questions, and they have to be revisited often as we grow. But the goal is maturity; we want to see progress. We want to be more like our Lord, to do good - as He defines it - in the time we have on this earth.
Christian, I’m routing and praying for you!
“As for God, His way is perfect;
The Word of the Lord is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.”
Psalm 18:30
