God is Good

I was talking with a close friend of mine the other day and she was telling me about a conversation she had recently with someone that had left her feeling... disheartened. Her words to me were "The more I get to know some people, the more disappointed I become."

Wow... isn't that true?

I could really sympathize with her. After all, people are disappointing. People make mistakes. We see it all the time...

People lie.
People cheat.
People argue.
People are back-stabbing.
People gossip.

Furthermore,

We are self-seeking.
We are envious.
We delight in drama.
We harshly judge others.
We brag.
We are jealous.
We are self-righteous.

We just are. We are human. We make mistakes and some times, more times than we'd care to admit it, make the SAME ones over and over again.

I have learned a lot about people over the years and the bottom line is - they will disappoint you almost every time.

Now - I am NOT saying there aren't good people out there with good motives. I believe we all have a deep-seeded desire to please others. To help others. To encourage and motivate others. We all want to be loved, appreciated, trusted and respected, and I truly believe we all long to build those kinds of honest relationships where all of those traits are present.

However, sooner or later, humans WILL ultimately disappoint each other. In one way or another.

Mark 10 tells a story of a rich man falling at Jesus' feet begging Him to tell him how he inherits eternal life. He begins his request with, "Good teacher". Jesus replies to him with this profound question/statement, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone."

No one.

Jesus healed the sick, made the blind see, raised the dead to life and still considered himself unworthy to be called good.

God is good. He is who we need to place our trust in. He is the only one who won't fail us. Won't deny us. Won't betray us. He is the one in whom we should desire acceptance from because He is the one who loves us beyond comprehension.

People will fail us. They will hurt us. There's no doubt about it. But we have to let them off the hook too. They aren't God - and remember - we just learned that God is the ONLY one who is good.

As Christians, I believe we are called to live in the world but not be of the world. And living for the approval of man or expecting too much from men and women who are mere mortals is living as part of the world.

I believe that true living is when we place our hope, trust and love in the God of the universe... the One who loved us before we ever chose to love Him. Seeking His approval and His acceptance is the only goal I have here on this planet and I pray that I will live a life that is honoring to Him by expressing grace and mercy to those who... well... don't measure up. Lord knows I have failed MANY in my pursuit of perfectionism.

Letting people off the hook for failing to be perfect frees me up to focus more on living like Christ. Loving like Christ. Giving like Christ. And that's what matters most... to me.

God... use me to make the changes necessary in my life to reflect your love to a hurting world.