The Good

Early in my youth, naïve and uninitiated, I believed in the good of every person. Life has modified and clarified for me my belief lay not in the good of every person, but in good itself and this good did exist in some people while in others the good did not seem to reside with them at all. This is why I am not a Pacifist, given to intolerance when good is absent, wary of manipulation and wholly Christian.  

If perplexed and bewildered over mankind’s present state, if good’s absence seems the norm and you are wondering how we arrived within this conflict, I might suggest not so much we have claimed our gods and goddesses, but we have proclaimed God not at all or no God at all. A tree cut from its roots soon withers and dies.   

True freedom of an individual comes not from having it his own way but recognizing and resting in freedom’s source emanating not from freedom itself but from He who gives it. Reducing God, omitting Him makes our conflict apparent and the farther down this road we travel, the more the conflict deepens. Turning here or there, right or left, away from Him, leads us to this missourced freedom whose only consequence is conflict. Here we are.  

The Good I believe in lives. It is our life’s source and the source from which all was created. Despite all, I still see good and because I do, I know God is ever present and working toward His ultimate will. His will means many things and knows its concluding destination. The good I see is a hint of things to come. There is a way back, toward if viewed through His eyes. Returning to God requires our participation.  

Embedded in our conflict and this desire to assume dominion over our self is the idea the power to order society resides with man. I am not saying we should not do God’s work, but apart from Him, without Him, God’s work is in the eye of the beholder. And it is this beholder I distrust.  

 “Like Josiah, may I do what is right in the sight of the Lord, walking in the ways of David and not turning aside to the right or to the left” (2 Chronicles 34:1,2). Have some lost eye contact with God?  

Those who wish to have it their own way will, in the end, get for what they asked. Getting it, then knowing it is a somber truth. Does this make God sad? If so, He has been sad for a long time. Is God hopeful? Why, He is the source of hope and to this hope we must return. Renewal must come before revival.   

I do believe in Good and because I know good comes from a higher realm, I can look past the conflict because between true men of God there is no conflict.  

 “Those who have ears to hear, let them hear” (Matthew 11:15, NKJV).  

3 thoughts on “The Good”

  1. Hi Deck!
    Life has been so crazy…and don’t always stop to comment but appreciate your articles and miss our critique meetings. We need encouraging voices in this time of unprecedented upheaval in our country. Hope you and family are doing well.

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