As a Matter of Fact

On my way to work yesterday, I watched the driver of an SUV as he approached a major junction. There was a man with a cart about to cross the road, but I expected the SUV to speed into the intersection and continue on the way as was the norm with many drivers, especially as it was a weekday morning and approaching rush hour. But the driver slowed to a stop and let the other man push his cart across. I remember looking at the driver’s face and saying in my heart, this is a good man. Then I asked myself if I could really tell just by looking.

You know, we also do the opposite sometimes when we see a person do something rash or hear them talk trash and in our hearts we classify them as bad people. But can we really tell about a person just like that? People in relationships would be the first to respond with a blatant “No!”

People pretend, people lie. People sometimes come across as what they’re not, and sometimes say things they don’t mean, and then get judged for those moments of indiscretion.

And so you may ask two different people about a third person and each would have a very different opinion, depending on their interactions with the third person. Kind of like the blind men who touched an Elephant and came up with different views of what they believed they had touched. One touched the ears and said he’d touched a large fan; one touched the tail and said he’d touched a rope. Another touched the legs and said he’d touched a tree, and one touched the body and said he’d touched a wall. Good luck trying to talk them all into believing they’d touched the same animal.

So is that why some people say God is good and some say He’s not? Well, God isn’t irregularly shaped, and you don’t need eyes to see Him, but you get the idea. He doesn’t lie or pretend, and has no moments of indiscretion.

Many times we come to Him with a preformed perception of what He’s like, and we end up experiencing that image we formed in our hearts. Don’t let your preconceptions deny you a firsthand experience of God’s goodness.

He offers us more than an opportunity to touch Him; He wants us to experience Him! To jump onto Him like into a sea with no strings attached, till we come to the full knowledge of who He is. Come thirsty and drink your fill. Come empty and be fulfilled.

I could remind you that God is good, but I’ll just let you see for yourself and be your own witness.

The truth of the goodness of God isn’t an opinion to be debated; it’s a fact to be acknowledged.

Let’s hear it.