Is God good All the time? Absolutely, but… is His goodness always in sync with how our obsession with comfort and nearsightedness defines goodness? God created us to enjoy life and have the highest sense of well-being when are most conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” Romans 8:29 (ESV)
It is fascinating to find that God’s way with mankind is to honor and protect their freedom to choose their destiny. When the rich young man asked Jesus what good deed he needed to do to have eternal life, Jesus first pointed him to following the 10 Commandments. When the young man retorted that he had been careful to do that from his childhood, Jesus fingered the nerve that exposed his gross misinterpretation of how God thinks. What is also noteworthy is the fact that Jesus made absolutely no effort to attempt to restimulate the man’s interest in it. He respected a human’s decision as He historically did with the early Hebrews and with us today.
Suppose a person thinks they know God’s love and grace but does not take the time to read the rest of what the Bible says about His righteousness and truth. Their minds impulsively jump to a conclusion and create a false expectation about what God said or what He will do. For example. If someone ‘cherry picked’ the verse “without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV), they could falsely imagine God is going to “reward” them with whatever they are dreaming about.
It brings us pleasure to expect His rewards if we share His thinking regarding such issues, but we must read what it goes on to read “of them who diligently seek Him”. Can we really presume we are diligently seeking Him by going to church, making contributions, and doing acts of service. Unfortunately, God doesn’t think in terms of bartering or earning His rewards through good works of any sort. He eagerly rewards those who seek to know Him more intimately. Such a heart seeks out more of His ways by reading other parts of His Word, which reads, “even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.” James 4:3 (NLT2) Isn’t this the same principle that occurs in a marriage relationship or any relationship. It happens all the time in the news media or sales work, which almost always creates false expectations, which end in conflict.
Neglecting to study His Word and listening for His Spirit to personalize it to you will naturally result in unhealthy expectations. A solid interpretation of the Bible produces obedience, unity, and righteous living. The lack of it produces false expectations and unrighteous behavior.
It is very dangerous and unproductive to reshape God into our own image, one who thinks as we think, wants what we want, and does what we want. Is your mental image of the god in your mind more akin to yourself than to the God the Bible describes? If the god in your mind is significantly different, what do you sense you need to do to think more as He thinks? I am energized when I receive another revelation of God’s ways. It makes me feel closer to Him. This is one of the ways He rewards those who diligently seek Him.
When we seek to be more like Him is when we really begin to become more like Him!