“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.” (Matthew 7:15-18 NLT)
Often when we speak or listen regarding the topic of goodness, we’re so focused on the fact that there are “none righteous, no not one” that we miss that we’re also called to do good works. Are not those of us who have been born again also called to live good lives? Yes, of course, our salvation is not and can never be built or dependent upon our own goodness, but if the Spirit of the living God is living in and through us, doesn’t it stand to reason that His goodness will also live in and flow out of us?
If it doesn’t, something is drastically wrong. According to Paul in Philippians 2:5, we’re to have the same mind and attitude as Christ Jesus. Reading further in that chapter we learn that Jesus humbled Himself in obedience to God the Father and allowed Himself to be executed on a criminal’s cross. If we’re going to share His attitude, we must be willing to lay aside our own personal interests and assume a posture of obedience that ideally allows His goodness to be seen in our attitudes and actions as His follower.
Good behavior and conduct follow good thoughts. Having the mind of Christ involves not only thinking His thoughts but adapting His attitudes as our own. What might that look like? Thinking the best in any given situation, not only about the circumstances, but the people involved who may have contributed to the creation OF those circumstances. How does that translate?
We don’t have to like someone to treat them like Jesus treats us. Yes, I know the Lord loves us, there’s a sense in which He has no choice, after all, He is love incarnate, but my sense is there are times He doesn’t like us very much. Like the time in Peter’s life when he proclaimed that Jesus was the Son of God, the Anointed Savior sent from God, then turned around a little while later and declared Jesus would never die on the Cross. The Lord reprimanded him, illustrating He wasn’t very happy with him because he wasn’t seeing the plans of God for the Savior clearly.
How often do we get in the way of God’s desire to work good in and through us because we misunderstand the reason He wants us to be and do the good in the first place. We too often tend to believe that our goodness should in some way be credited to our account, that we should get “brownie points” with God when we’re good, but that’s not God’s plan. His plan is that our goodness becomes the natural byproduct of His life being lived out through us, not that people see our goodness, but HIS, not that we be given honor and glory, but all praise and honor be given to the Lord.
Aren’t we to be our best selves and live our best life? Absolutely, but the reality is, that can’t happen unless and then only to the extent we yield our life and allegiance to Jesus. Why is that true? Because there is none righteous, no not one! We have no righteousness or goodness of our own, it only comes as a gift from the Lord when we allow Him to transform us and fill us with Himself. “OUR” goodness is really only a reflection of Who lives in and through us. We can take no credit for what the Lord is doing, but having said that, being a willing vessel and openly living with an attitude of submission and obedience to the Lord is the goal of every believer; thus, goodness is how we should be perceived.
Of course, not everyone will give God the credit immediately, but ideally “our” goodness will open many doors of opportunity to share with others Who it is that is really good, and it’s NOT US!
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
