Is God always good? Absolutely! …but not always good in our eyes! His goodness is not always the same as what our obsession with comfort and nearsightedness defines as goodness. How well do we really know God?
Jesus’ words in Luke 19:20-24 paint His goodness with a broader brush. In Jesus’ allegory, we normally interpret what occurred as God’s justice, but is that how the third servant in the narrative saw the situation? The servant saw his master (representing Jesus in the episode) as ‘austere’. His lord did not challenge this but said only that if the servant was aware of the austerity of his master, he ought to have behaved accordingly and done his duty. The original Greek adjective used here was used to speak of food, which was sharp to the taste of unripe fruit, and of people who were harsh or severe. The crux is, God’s goodness surpasses our limited definitions. We normally do not think of Jesus in those terms. Consider the abuse Jesus went through before His resurrection and ascension. Regarding that time, the Psalmist wrote, “You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth.” Psalm 71:20 (NLT2) This begs the question, how well do we really know God?
Difficulties fall into at least three categories. There are those resulting from Adam and Eve’s disobedience of which everyone feels the pain. There are those God allows us to endure that have nothing to do with our choices. Jesus referred to this type when explaining the man was born blind. (John 9:2-3). Poor choices may also lead to difficulties. What is so awe-inspiring is found in Paul’s words, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” Romans 8:28 (NLT2) However, for reasons known only to Him, God has ways to protect us from the results of some of those difficulties.
A prophet who endured hard relational pain wrote these insightful words. “Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. After two days, he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.” Hosea 6:1-3 (ESV)
We need to be cautious not to favor verses that just comfort us and promise God’s rewards. It is great to expect His promised rewards, but we must also remember to read the whole promise as in Hebrews 11:6, where it finishes by saying “…he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6 (KJV)
Neglecting to study His Word and hearing His Spirit personalize it to you will naturally result in unhealthy expectations. Sound interpretation of God’s Word produces unity and righteous living, not just living according to our preferences. God uses the bumps in our road to get our attention and motivate us to seek to know Him more fully. One of my favorite verses is, “When God spoke from Mount Sinai, his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens as well. This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain.” Hebrews 12:26-27 (NLT2)