There is Only One
Psalm 119:68 NKJV — You are good, and do good; Teach me Your statutes.
Luke 18:19 NKJV — So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.
My Perception
A lot of people seem to be good to me. But God says there is only one who is truly good and who does good. That one person is the Lord Jesus who made the claim that He was God.
We are told to see the good in people. We are told that there is some good in everyone. Unfortunately we have to look pretty hard to see the good in some people. Unbelievers do not see the good in God, because a good God, they say, would eliminate wars and suffering. They think the wars in the Old Testament should not have taken place.
What we Forget
Unfortunately, while God is good and does good, there is an evil one who is a murderer and a liar who opposes all that is good. He was created good and perfect and had a prestigious place in heaven. Likely, He was the Lord’s chief of staff. But iniquity was found in Him. Ezekiel 28:15 seems to be teaching allegorically about this created angel. That passage says, “Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.” Read the whole passage for context with regard to this angel who rebelled in heaven. He now is the one who keeps saying, “I will”, in Isaiah 14.12-14.
We tend to blame God for the works of Satan who Paul says is the god of this age in 2 Corinthians 4:4. He is called Apollyon or the destroyer in Revelation 9:11. He is subtle, constantly questioning the Word of God. With Eve, he said, “Yea, hath God said?” He continues that attack today. His arguments questioning the Word of God often make logical sense.
Can We Who are Saved be God-like?
Most of us who have trusted in the truth that Christ died to put away our sins, would like to be transformed into true godliness by the renewing of our mind rather than being conformed (or modeled by Satan’s pressure) into something that pleases Satan. It seems to me that Satan doesn’t care what lie we believe and perpetuate as long as we don’t stand for the truth. There is only one Truth. That Truth is the Lord and his Truth is found in the Bible. But people misuse the Bible. They make it say what they want it to say rather than asking the Lord to help them grasp the truth of Scripture.
How Do We Discern a Person who Reflects the Truth?
It seems to me that a God-like person is more concerned with how their decisions affect others than they are about how their decisions affect themselves. I keep coming back to the basic truth that we are to love God and love our neighbor. I may sound like a broken record but when I talk to Christians today I hear the trinity, “Me, Myself, and I.” Is it because when we preach the Gospel we tell people about what Christ has done for them and then we tell them to do something to be saved? We are supposed to tell them to trust someone (that is the Lord) to be saved. Do we believe Paul when he says that one of our basic rights is to not use our rights? In 1 Corinthians 9:12, he says, “If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more? Nevertheless we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ.” Do we believe him when he says in 1 Corinthians 6:7, “Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?”
I freely admit that I have problems with allowing myself to be lied to, defrauded, and humiliated by others, particularly when the “others” claim to be Christians. But that makes me a part of the “me, myself and I” generation. It may be necessary for us to get our own houses in order before we can effectively preach that we know and believe the truth.
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of August 22, 2021