Season 02 Episode 006: Radiant Goodness

May 15

Riding through the countryside, admiring the beauty of our little piece of home, one song kept playing in my head. “All my life you have been faithful, all my life you have been so, so good, with every breath that I am able I will sing of the goodness of God.” Have you heard this one? If not, pause here, look up Bethel Music, “Goodness of God”, cry a little, worship Jesus, and then return to this post.

Goodness. My mind keeps pondering how I can even come close to reflecting God’s goodness. I’m overwhelmed singing the words and attempting to acknowledge the depth of His goodness. Goodness, as an attribute of the Fruit of the Spirit should be a natural byproduct of my life of faith. But is it?

To answer this question, I’ve been exploring goodness, what goodness means and what it doesn’t.

Have you ever told a child to “be good”, or do you remember being told to “be good” by a parent? With all my kids, now ages 23, 19, and 12, I gave them this instruction as toddlers, and I still remind them now to “be good”. Why? As toddlers and small children that’s easy to understand because kids have an uncanny way of not being good. You turn your back or get distracted for 15 minutes and there is no telling what you will find. My oldest was especially sneaky and I have proof in pictures. One day I realized I didn’t see or hear him, after looking for several moments I found him in his closet with an entire bottle of powder all over him, and all over the floor. Another time our toothpaste kept disappearing. After the third tube, I went on a house hunt and found the missing toothpaste tubes, now empty, between his bed and the wall. Apparently, the minty flavor appealed to him. If you’re curious, I’m unaware of any lasting effects ingesting it will have on a three-year-old. It’s no surprise, that when I dropped him off at the sitter’s or grandma’s I reminded him to “be good”.

As adults though, do we still need this reminder? On a personal level, if I’m being good, I’m referring to my health habits. I’m good, if I choose a salad over carb-loaded pasta and breadsticks, or an apple instead of the double chocolate brownie. I’m good, if I choose exercise, at least three days a week.

I don’t think Paul had my dessert choices in mind when he wrote Galatians 5:22-23 and told us “goodness” was evidence of the spirit at work in our lives. Goodness in this verse is the Greek word, agathosoune. This word for goodness is only found four times in the Bible, although its root, agathos is found over one hundred times. It is different from kindness, which is more passive, this type of goodness is an aggressive, energized, activity. (Grant, 2015)

How can you understand goodness, and more importantly how can you reflect goodness in your life?

We must understand only God is good. Jesus said,

“No one is good but God alone.” (Mark 10:18)

If no one is good, but God, are you fighting a losing battle attempting goodness?

Goodness is only possible because of God. James 1:17 reminds us “every good and perfect thing comes from God”. Goodness in this form is a noun, it’s not an action like kindness, it’s not something you do. In my effort to produce goodness, I can’t forget goodness comes from God, it’s not something I can create. Doing good is an action toward others. Goodness is about active righteousness. And our righteousness without Christ is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), in other words without God I can’t have goodness without accepting Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, and allowing him to become the Lord of my life.

Goodness is built by faith, by relationship with Christ. Your actions shouldn’t be an effort to be good or for the applause of others, but because of who you are in Him. (2 Thessalonians 1:11)

In the book of Jeremiah, the prophet proclaims a message containing promises concerning the gathering of Israel. He refers to the gathering to Jerusalem from captivity in ancient times and the gathering to Jesus Christ and His Church in the latter days from all places in the world where Israel had been scattered. And says this about God’s goodness.

They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more. (Jeremiah 31:12)

When we receive the promises of God into our lives, any dry, cracked, dead area is filled with His goodness. Unlike a desert, our lives become like a watered garden able to impact those around us.

This allows us to understand, that goodness is an overflow of the work of the Holy Spirit in my life.

Referring back to my health habits, the harder I try to diet, to “be good” the more difficulty I have resisting the ice cream or the piece of chocolate cake. When I quit trying so hard, choosing instead to create a lifestyle reflecting my desire to be healthy, resistance is no longer an issue. If I pick out the groceries in my home, I can choose to leave chocolate cake off the list. I have discovered this is one of the great things about grocery pickup, I’m not tempted by what I don’t ever see.

Spiritually the bible tells us, we are all born into sin (Romans 5:12-14). Meaning your nature is the opposite of good. Allowing poor physical choices will lead to an unhealthy body, and allowing our sinful nature to control us leads to an unhealthy spirit. Following his description of the fruit of the spirit, in the very next chapter of Galatians, Paul writes,

Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. (Galatians 6:8 NLT)

We develop the same habits of the people we have in our lives. Good friendships will increase our happiness, our health, and our success, but toxic relationships will have the opposite effect. (Edwards, 2024) Goodness won’t happen by trying really really hard. It will happen when you fall in love with Jesus, choosing to create a lifestyle reflecting Him. Goodness will happen when you put yourself into places and around people who desire to place God first in their lives.

For instance, as an older teen, I was the only one in my friend group to attend a summer camp, My roommates were girls also attending camp solo that year. My rule-following ways became apparent immediately and I believe they made it a goal to have a little fun shocking me. For whatever reason, I chose to go along with all their wild plans, from sabotaging the bathrooms with saran wrap and Vaseline to opening our windows after curfew to talk to the boys a floor below. By the end of the week, we’d become a trio of mischief drinking our Dr Pepper and wearing our doo-rags onto the softball field. What’s even more horrifying about all this was my tendency to get hurt anytime I participated in an activity requiring body awareness. But my new friends played softball so I forced myself onto the field, enduring melting temperatures pretending to care about making it on base. Other than a little sweat, I remained unharmed and managed to score a run or two. I would have been much happier inside with the group crafting in the cafeteria. Looking back, it’s startling to see how quickly I mirrored behaviors opposite to my true nature to fit in.

Goodness won’t happen by trying really really hard. It will happen when you fall in love with Jesus, choosing to create a lifestyle reflecting Him. Goodness will happen when you put yourself into places and around people who desire to place God first in their lives.

If I want to reflect the goodness of God in my life, I need to be around people reflecting the goodness of God. People who have allowed the goodness of God in their lives to overflow into mine.

We live radiantly when the overflow of our lives brings good to others around us.

I want goodness to mark my life, but I recognize I need Him. I need to communicate with Him to allow Him to work goodness in me and through me.

Will you pray with me?
Father, Thank you for your goodness. Even when I didn’t deserve it, in your goodness you made a way for me to come to you. More than anything I want others to see you when they see me. Help me to shine with your goodness, let your goodness spur me into action to see the right things are done. Give me the courage to choose your goodness when other choices seem easier. I want my life to be radiant because of you, knowing every good thing comes from you. When it’s hard, even when I don’t understand, allow your goodness to rise up in me in response to every situation. In Jesus name, Amen.

Let’s go live radiantly.

XOXO,