Having confidence in the good

Through no effort of my own, I have had generous gifts of good and its workings. The gifts have come from many different sources. Good parents, good siblings, a constant stream of good teachers, good extended family, good churches, good communities, good education institutions, good coaches, and good friends were all there. None were perfect, but collectively they gave me a picture of the good life. I have been blessed by the good of life.

One special gift that was given to me by my church is the memorizing of meaningful Bible passages. Romans 8:28 comes to mind often. “We know that in everything, God works for good, especially with those who love Him and who believe they are called to do his purposes.” This verse verbalizes two fundamental beliefs that I cherish. First, God is good and a doer of good, and second, God has the uncanny ability to do good in every one of life’s situations, even in the ones we might call “bad.” My confidence in good is unshakable. The challenge of Jesus followers is simple. We can never be overcome by evil, and we overcome evil with the doing of good. When we see good being done, we know that God is at work, and we join in the work.

I see the Romans 8:28 statement as a companion to the so called creation account of the first chapter of Genesis. Christians historically have called it a creation story. Put in its ancient setting, it is more appropriately read as a discovery story. The Israelite God does not create the world but rather discovers the world in chaos. Origins were not a concern of ancient Babylonian mythology. Rather, the Babylonians were concerned about the persistence of chaos. Their wise men fought chaos, but were completely frustrated by the reappearances of chaos. The Genesis creation account is a response to the Babylonian myth. In the Israelite myth, God discovers the world without form and void. In other words, God discovered the world chaotic and useless. The response of the Israelite God was not to do battle with chaos but to overcome chaos with the doing of good.

In the Israelite myth, God worked for six days. He declared every day’s work “good!” At the time of the writing of the Israelite myth, Israel had tried the fighting solution and had lost big time. They had lost their home land, their beloved Jerusalem and their sacred temple. A small band of Israelites came to a radical conclusion. Fighting wars and killing in the name of God does not work. This courageous remnant band of Israelites called for a new day when evil and chaos were to be challenged not by fighting and killing but by the doing of good. This was the task that was taken up by Jesus from Nazareth. IN THE FACE OF CHAOS, DO GOOD. Do good and love those who wrongly use you. Bless those who curse you.

I am a worshiper. Every Sunday you will find me in a house of worship, singing songs of praise to God, listening for a fresh message from a knowledgeable prophet of God, and bowing in simple reverence before the God who loves me dearly. I take no vacation from my worship schedule. Worship is what keeps life focused. I do not dare neglect my worship life. A day of worship each week leaves me with six days to do the tasks of my vocation…the doing of good.

The tasks of doing good are varied. It includes planting flowers, taking a friend to lunch, giving a friend a ride to an appointment, reading a book for the health of my mind, voting in every election and tending to the needs of my dog and cat. Add a meeting of a committee or board and the visiting of a lonely person in a hospital or a prison. Do not forget writing a check for a worthy cause; and do not neglect speaking truth to power when needed and appropriate. Every faithful follower of Jesus can add to the list. No two lists will ever be identical.

We have been celebrating the season of Pentecost. As described in the book of Acts, the coming of the Spirit of God was an event. I would argue that the coming and presence o0f God’s Spirit is more than an event or a season to be celebrated. Pentecost is a reminder that God does not leave his/her people without support and direction. I take Spirit baptism seriously. It is a complete bathing/drenching of the believer in the power and purposes of a loving God, who is engulfed with the doing of good in his world.

The doing of good is the only viable program for the establishing of the Kingdom of God on earth for which we pray each Sunday. Whether or not to believe in a virgin birth of Jesus is small potatoes compared to whether or not we will believe in the power of doing good. God’s program of good is demanding and calls for long-term commitment. The world has a real need for God’s doers of good.

The End

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives In Palmer, Alaska. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.