"Goodness!" Such A Surprise 

Since when did ‘goodness’ seem such a rare thing that we should especially use its name in times of unusual surprise?

To the shepherd boy psalmist, ‘goodness’ was more a bold battle cry than a shrill shout of shock. Responding to Goliath’s reckless heckles, David’s victorious encounters with lions and bears that sought to spoil his flock acted as startling reminders of the sure and settled providence of his always-faithful God.

Where might we too find the certainty of the ‘Surely’ of Psalm 23 verse 6’s ‘goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life’?

Surely such certainty flows with strong aroma from the surrounding context of the ‘anointing’ in the preceding verse 5, that brings the presence of the One in Whose house we shall ultimately dwell forever!

Goodness was never to be found separate from the God of our salvation; and could it ever be when God himself pronounced so early on in Genesis 2 verse 18 that ‘it is not good that man should be alone’? This is why God made a helpmeet comparable, though He long-sufferingly waited until halfway through the Bible in Proverbs 18 verse 22 for his comeback to Adam’s breath-taking complaint against ‘the woman You gave to be with me’ with ‘He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favour from the Lord’.

This is what makes the story of the rich young ruler all the more pathetically sad, that the man thought goodness was something that might be grasped in isolation… ‘All these things I have kept since my youth’, he boasts in Luke 18 verse 21, and yet we ourselves are kept by goodness, which we can hardly attempt to keep to ourselves when our very God overflows. As 1 John 3 verse 17 so majestically states, ‘But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

Exodus 33 verse 19 is exceedingly helpful in showing us that when Moses requests to see God’s glory that God not only equates His shining excellence with making ‘all My goodness pass before you’ but even such goodness is spelt out in ‘I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious’. Goodness isn’t some moral account we can hoard to ourselves, but a fruit of the Holy Spirit that flows forth in grace for grace. This is why Jesus still looked lovingly after the supposedly rich young ruler who impoverished himself in jilting the ‘One thing he lacked’… Jesus.

The story is tellingly different from another rich ruler, the Queen of Sheba, who came with many questions and much wealth, but there was no more spirit left in her when she saw the exceeding majesty of Solomon, who symbolised our Lord reigning in peace. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. She truly inherited much lasting wealth.

Luke’s account has the rich young ruler ascribe goodness to Jesus, as if it took one to know one, less a compliment and more a brag. Jesus penetratingly replied, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.” I think this goes some way towards answering our original question of why goodness comes as such a surprise to us, when we think God is altogether such a one as ourselves, but the psalmist corrects us again in making goodness so solidly tangible in Psalm 107 verses 8 to 9, not so much an abstract theological concept we might aspire to, but the outworking of God around and within us:

‘Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.’

It’s easy to become cynical as to the intentions of those who’d rule over us, but our God is a very different King from the first of many Georges we’ve had and are yet to come. The poor Protestant prince was painstakingly prepared on his passage over to Britain in linguistically drilling him for a convincing show of grace in a limited but hopefully manageable phrase, but the German journeyed perilously far from original intent in mangling, “I have come for the good of you all!” to the perhaps more believable, “I have come for all your goods!” No need to put up our defences with the King of Love though, for he humbled himself even unto death in seeking our salvation.

Talking of getting defensive, I remember as a youth receiving my annual sealed school report, which I was supposed to deliver back to my parents without sneaking a look to carefully seal again. I was never satisfied with ‘satisfactory’… the sheer perfunctory nature of it! I hungered after a ‘good’ at least, if not ‘excellent’, but God shows unto us a ‘more excellent way’ in 1 Corinthians 13: a love that keeps no record of wrongs and never gives up in seeking to do good.

As Romans 12 verse 2 progresses, ‘And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.’ Only God’s goodness is acceptable and completely equips us in following His will, that we might all see the goodness of God in the land of the living, even now and make it that much less surprising to those hearts that might otherwise lose heart.

Let’s give the Psalmist the last word in boldly bringing goodness down to earth (27 verses 13 to 14):

Yet I am confident I will see the LORD’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living.
Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD.