Becoming Good As He Is Good: The Goodness of Character

There is, of course, much more to the word good than the goodness of God displayed in creation. Goodness is full-orbed and many-dimensional. Like all the characteristics of God, it is holistic. When God instructs us to be good, He is first of all calling us to the goodness of character. As we saw in the last blog, God’s essential nature is good. He never calls us to something other than what He Himself is, for His goal in redemption is to conform us to His very own image. He is restoring us to His original design as He intended when He first created Adam and Eve: “Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:26-27, NKJV).

As is true of God, all of our actions and decisions flow out of who we are internally or inherently (belonging to the basic nature of something, Merriam-Webster.com). For this reason, all goodness must begin with character. As Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount, “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit”; likewise, “nor can a bad tree bear good fruit” (Matthew 7:18). The fruit of actions is simply a display of what is within. Jesus used this metaphor again in John 15 when He referred to Himself as the True Vine. He is full of goodness. All His thoughts, ways, decisions, actions, and judgments are always and only good. All goodness flows from Him. This is why He could say, “Apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Only if we grow out of that Vine as branches, can we be filled with goodness and bear the fruits of goodness. We must have His good “sap” flowing through us.

What is the good character that flows from God? He is faithful. He is trustworthy. He is forgiving. He is kind. He is righteous. He is just. He is full of mercy, compassion, and grace. He is thoughtful and caring. He is selfless. He is humble. He is patient and forbearing. Similarly, His goodness excludes all the character traits that are bad. He is not rude or self-centered or boastful or proud or arrogant. He is not envious or contentious. He does not hold grudges; He does not become bitter. He is not annoyed, impatient, frustrated, or out of sorts. Both positively and negatively, these are all characteristics of love (See I Corinthians 13). He is not only loving, but He is Love itself.

In all these ways, God is positively oriented toward us and He proved it through Christ. In the same way, God is calling us to be positively oriented toward one another. Christ Himself is firmly rooted in the character of God. He is the “Good Teacher” as we saw in Mark 10:17-18. If we believe in Him, we are connected to Him by faith, grafted into the Vine. His character begins to flow through us. Paul says in Eph. 4:20-21 that we must “learn Christ” and by “taught by Him.” Isaiah 54:13 promises that “all your children shall be taught by the Lord” (NKJV), and Jeremiah 31:34 says that we will all know Him.

How about you? Are you being taught by the Lord? Are you learning Christ and becoming more like Him? Are you faithful and trustworthy to fulfill your commitments and to keep your word? Are you faithfully fulfilling your responsibilities? Or do you shirk them through neglect, procrastination, or distraction with lesser, unimportant things? Are you kind and patient? Or are you irritable, annoyed, and frustrated? Are you forgiving? Or are you contentious, harboring bitterness and nursing grudges? Are you humble and selfless; are you looking out for the needs of others? Or are you putting yourself and your needs first? Do you seek to encourage others and have them recognized? Or do you seek to have others notice you and acknowledge you?

What is the state of your internal character? Are you good as He is good? Are you faithfully nurturing your “graft” into Christ, putting Him first? Or does time with Him get squeezed out in the busyness of life? Are you letting the sap of His character flow through you until you become as He is? Oh, may we become thoroughly and completely good, fully reflecting His goodness and bearing the fruit of it.

Lord, only You can make us truly good. Let Your life flow through us in all its fullness.