God is Good...

*This message is from Greg Laurie w/ Harvest Ministries

The Loving God is Good

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He Is good! For His mercy endures forever.
1 Chronicles 16:34

God is just and righteous and holy. We are not; we are sinners and we can never meet His standards. But in His love He approaches us. God loves us and He reaches out to us and then restores us back into His image.

Today we often have a vision of love that is very shallow and limited. We desire a love that wants to be paid back or is only temporary. That's not the love of God. His love is unchanging. It is consistent. It is inexhaustible. He always loves us no matter what we do.

What does it mean when the Bible teaches that God is good? It means that God is the final standard of good and all that He does is worthy of approval. Does that mean God is waiting for my approval? No. His goodness is not dependent upon my approval. He is good whether I agree with it or not. And if God is good, then I have a definition of the meaning of good that will greatly help me in my study of ethics and morality.

What is good? Good is what God approves. Wait—where do I come into this? I don't. Either I wake up to that fact and acknowledge that it is true or I foolishly think I am smarter than God.

We who follow God can thank Him for His goodness as we grow in our knowledge of Him and His love.