The Goodness of God – July 4, 2021

Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”
Exodus 33:18,19

The Goodness of God

It’s July 4th! Will you go to see the fireworks tonight? Sing some patriotic songs? We in the United States thank God for the blessings he’s poured out upon us and our country. And yet we also groan because of so much wrong in our country, so much activity that opposes the unchanging Word and holy will of God. So perhaps we would pray, like Moses did, “God, show us your glory!”

God answered Moses by saying, “I’ll show you my goodness.” Not glory. Goodness. Why? Because sinful human beings would die if they were to see the perfect glory of God.

Instead, God—who is LOVE—shows us his goodness. We see it most clearly in Jesus who went to the cross to pay for our sins. What a good God we have, who rescued us from our sins, even paying for them himself!

And ultimately, that’s what you and I—and our country—need to see. We need to see God’s forgiving love. We need to hear that God loves us now, that God loves us forever. We need to see that God is gracious, compassionate, forgiving. Seeing God’s goodness leads us to appreciate all the more his greatness and his might.

So, go ahead! Enjoy the fireworks, the patriotic songs. But all the more, enjoy the goodness of God! Appreciate his forgiveness, his compassion, his love. Those bring real fireworks, fireworks for the soul!

Prayer:
Lord, we thank you today that in a world that is often so bad, you love us enough to show us your goodness. Amen.