Mark 10:18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
Ah my Friends, it’s another day upon planet earth, another day when most of us will venture forth into the maelstrom, the confusion of the workplace to hopefully find ways of amassing our earthly goods and worldly possessions. But please bear in mind that though it has some merit, it is not, and I repeat, it is not the only, or even the most worthwhile goal of our lives. And way back in Jesus’ time, at least one wealthy, young ruler knew that riches didn’t mean anything when it came to eternal life, that’s why he ran up to Jesus, ‘kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?’ (Mark 10:17) But Jesus didn’t address the poor fellow’s question immediately, instead He asked a question of His own: ‘Why callest thou me good?’ He knew that the young man was addressing Him as a religious teacher, not as part of the Godhead. Then Jesus informed him that; ‘There is none good but one, that is, God.’ And isn’t that the truth of all truths mih people! Only God is good and perfect in everything, in all aspects of His nature and actions. His nature is defined by many wonderful attributes like kindness, LOVE, patience, mercy, forgiveness, and grace, which then beget the actions associated with each of them. So Jesus wasn’t trying to be a smart-alec or rain on the fellow’s parade, but was just reminding him that no mere mortal deserves or merits the title ‘good.’ Such a title is merited by only One Being; the immortal God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. All the good that surrounds us in this world is a true reflection of God’s goodness. ‘And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.’ (Gen.1:10) Yes Friends, right there, at the very beginning, the Lord’s goodness is shown, is highlighted, and there’s nowhere else, no other source from which good can be derived other than from Him. Note too, in describing Himself to Moses, some of the descriptions were; ‘The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in goodness and truth.’ (Ex.34:6) His goodness is certainly abundant my people, that’s why He can share so much of it with us, His beautiful, hand made creation. And we ought not to forget that cause it’s a very crucial aspect of our faith; always expecting good and not bad from our God. Hannah knew this when she sang her song of joy, re the Lord answering her prayer for a son, Samuel. She joyfully declared: ‘There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none besides thee: neither is there any rock like our God.’ (1 Sam.2:2) Praise His Holy Name oh my people! And the next thing Friends, is do we truly feel that way about our God? Do our hearts and souls sincerely sing the praises and the glory of the Most High God Jehovah? They should, and not only when we receive a special blessing like Hannah did, but all the time, cause He is constantly blessing us with things like, life, family, friends, food, good weather, abundant harvests, a roof over our heads and all the basic aspects of earthly life. Those are the things we take for granted, but we only receive them because of God’s LOVE and goodness towards us. As James so rightly and proudly proclaims: ‘Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness (variation) neither shadow of turning.’ (James 1:17) Yes my people, just like we talk about doing things out of the goodness of our hearts, it’s the same way our God provides the necessities of life for us from the goodness of His heart. And yuh know what Friends, our God is so good, His goodness is so abundant, in fact it knows no bounds whatsoever, that He not only makes our lives on earth comfortable and enjoyable, but He even created a special plan whereby we could enjoy eternal life with Him after the frail, physical bodies He built around our spirits have returned to the dust, the earth from which He made them. He sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins so that we could be redeemed, washed clean and reclaimed under the broad, safe, protective umbrella of His LOVE and goodness. As Bruh Paul puts it: ‘For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.’ (Eph. 2:8) Ah mih people, we don’t know lucky we really are nuh, worshipping a LOVING God like we do, because it’s from that LOVE, that all the goodness He bestows on us flows. Without LOVE there can be no goodness, for that’s the basic essence of LOVE. It’s there, it exists as a glowing example to us of the great care and concern that our heavenly Father bears for us. Please don’t forget that, cause it’s the backbone, the foundation of our faith; truth, righteousness and goodness which flow from the Almighty’s abundance of unconditional LOVE towards His sinful, rebellious and wayward children. And since we’re true believers, let’s go forth and spread that same sense and feeling of goodness, mercy, forgiveness, redemption and LOVE to others that the Lord has so generously showered on us. That is our godly purpose. Let’s do it all in Jesus’ Name. Amen. Much LOVE!…the fountain of all goodness…flows forth from…God’s LOVE…
Ah my Friends, it’s another day upon planet earth, another day when most of us will venture forth into the maelstrom, the confusion of the workplace to hopefully find ways of amassing our earthly goods and worldly possessions. But please bear in mind that though it has some merit, it is not, and I repeat, it is not the only, or even the most worthwhile goal of our lives. And way back in Jesus’ time, at least one wealthy, young ruler knew that riches didn’t mean anything when it came to eternal life, that’s why he ran up to Jesus, ‘kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?’ (Mark 10:17) But Jesus didn’t address the poor fellow’s question immediately, instead He asked a question of His own: ‘Why callest thou me good?’ He knew that the young man was addressing Him as a religious teacher, not as part of the Godhead. Then Jesus informed him that; ‘There is none good but one, that is, God.’ And isn’t that the truth of all truths mih people! Only God is good and perfect in everything, in all aspects of His nature and actions. His nature is defined by many wonderful attributes like kindness, LOVE, patience, mercy, forgiveness, and grace, which then beget the actions associated with each of them. So Jesus wasn’t trying to be a smart-alec or rain on the fellow’s parade, but was just reminding him that no mere mortal deserves or merits the title ‘good.’ Such a title is merited by only One Being; the immortal God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. All the good that surrounds us in this world is a true reflection of God’s goodness. ‘And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.’ (Gen.1:10) Yes Friends, right there, at the very beginning, the Lord’s goodness is shown, is highlighted, and there’s nowhere else, no other source from which good can be derived other than from Him. Note too, in describing Himself to Moses, some of the descriptions were; ‘The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in goodness and truth.’ (Ex.34:6) His goodness is certainly abundant my people, that’s why He can share so much of it with us, His beautiful, hand made creation. And we ought not to forget that cause it’s a very crucial aspect of our faith; always expecting good and not bad from our God. Hannah knew this when she sang her song of joy, re the Lord answering her prayer for a son, Samuel. She joyfully declared: ‘There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none besides thee: neither is there any rock like our God.’ (1 Sam.2:2) Praise His Holy Name oh my people! And the next thing Friends, is do we truly feel that way about our God? Do our hearts and souls sincerely sing the praises and the glory of the Most High God Jehovah? They should, and not only when we receive a special blessing like Hannah did, but all the time, cause He is constantly blessing us with things like, life, family, friends, food, good weather, abundant harvests, a roof over our heads and all the basic aspects of earthly life. Those are the things we take for granted, but we only receive them because of God’s LOVE and goodness towards us. As James so rightly and proudly proclaims: ‘Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness (variation) neither shadow of turning.’ (James 1:17) Yes my people, just like we talk about doing things out of the goodness of our hearts, it’s the same way our God provides the necessities of life for us from the goodness of His heart. And yuh know what Friends, our God is so good, His goodness is so abundant, in fact it knows no bounds whatsoever, that He not only makes our lives on earth comfortable and enjoyable, but He even created a special plan whereby we could enjoy eternal life with Him after the frail, physical bodies He built around our spirits have returned to the dust, the earth from which He made them. He sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins so that we could be redeemed, washed clean and reclaimed under the broad, safe, protective umbrella of His LOVE and goodness. As Bruh Paul puts it: ‘For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.’ (Eph. 2:8) Ah mih people, we don’t know lucky we really are nuh, worshipping a LOVING God like we do, because it’s from that LOVE, that all the goodness He bestows on us flows. Without LOVE there can be no goodness, for that’s the basic essence of LOVE. It’s there, it exists as a glowing example to us of the great care and concern that our heavenly Father bears for us. Please don’t forget that, cause it’s the backbone, the foundation of our faith; truth, righteousness and goodness which flow from the Almighty’s abundance of unconditional LOVE towards His sinful, rebellious and wayward children. And since we’re true believers, let’s go forth and spread that same sense and feeling of goodness, mercy, forgiveness, redemption and LOVE to others that the Lord has so generously showered on us. That is our godly purpose. Let’s do it all in Jesus’ Name. Amen. Much LOVE!…the fountain of all goodness…flows forth from…God’s LOVE…
SCRIP-BITS 