Westside Church of Christ

God is good. We hear it in movies, see it on caps, t-shirts and occasionally on bumper stickers. It is a comforting thought. He never slips nor dozes. He is totally consistent. It is a fundamental and easy-to-understand concept; simple words used to describe a very complex being. God is good.

It is hard to look beyond the issues of the world to see it. So much seems to be spinning out of control. Yet, He is. We look horizontally when a vertical gaze is what we need. His vision is not confined to time and space. He exists outside of a clock and calendar. For our eternal Creator, all places are here and all times are now. It is inconceivable to our very limited minds. He is not bound by any human limitations. He is God, and He is good.

We see the artwork and power of His creative word all around us. He reaches from the simplest cell to the most magnificent mountain and beyond. The most distant planet, wherever that might be, is in the palm of His hand. He spoke and light appeared, the earth took shape and living creatures came into being. He took simple dust, shaped a human from it and breathed life into him. He took a rib and made a partner for him. It is all so incomprehensible. He is good, and what He makes is good. He said so. In fact, it was very good.

He has such a special interest in humanity that He sent His Son to salvage what we had wrecked. The image in which we were created had been greatly distorted, and His glory had been submerged in a sea of sin. The damage seemed irreparable, but our Creator had a plan. It was costly; the life of His unique Son. Yes, God is good and has extraordinary love for us. The cross is not the complete story. The death of Jesus Christ was not a period but a comma. God is indeed good; He is also powerful. Even death doesn’t have a chance when it meets Him face-to-face. He raises dead people. Amazing! We hear it so often that it can lose its impact. He resurrects the dead! God is good, loving and unstoppably powerful.

This wonderfully good, loving and powerful God wants us to be with Him. He desires that all people be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4). We dare not gloss over what an extraordinary fact that is. The consequence of sin is death, a separation from God. Unless that problem is resolved, we will die apart from all of that goodness. We will carry the scars and the guilt forever with no way to escape the torment. That is not what He wants nor is it His plan. Accept Him or reject Him. God is good. How could we possibly turn Him away?

Call to Praise: 1 John 3:1-3

His word on it: 2 Corinthians 7:1

Sermon: “A Challenge of Character”