Is God Good?

Mar 29

A few weeks ago, I got a DM on Instagram that I couldn't look past. It was from a gal asking big theological questions, and her main one was this:

Isn't it unfair that God made us, without our consent, and then set before us two paths: salvation or life without Him?

I'm telling you guys, I'm a deep thinker - but there are so many layers to this one... so many follow-up questions. There was too much to communicate via Instagram direct message. And you, my no filter friends, know me: I'm here less for the giving of tidy answers and more about asking honest questions that leave us more in awe of God.

So that's what I did. I followed up with another big question about why this gal thought God created us. Because if we believe that God created us out of love, then there's nothing unfair about Him offering us more of Him. But if we believe He created us as little minion-like chess pieces so He could toy with us... we're in a different situation.

And I'll tell you where I land.

I believe we were created in love and offered redemption through Jesus in the same love. Here's how John 3, The Message version, puts it:

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.

I don't think God wants restrictive ANYTHING for us. I don't think He wants bad for us. I think He wants good for us and the enemy's greatest lie in our lives is convincing us that God's way, God's path, is anything other than good. It started in the garden, and this confusion is still permeating our thinking. I know it's still permeating mine!

So I guess the question I'm asking is: do you believe God is actually good? And I'm not trying to answer that for you. But whether you've walked with Jesus for 30 years or you've actually never considered yourself a Christian, this is a question that we all get to answer.

And for bonus points, here's the follow-up question: If God is good, how does that change your day today? How does that change how you treat others? How does that shift the way you live? How does it make you feel?

Honest questions change the world, right?

I'm grateful for you, praying for you, and believing you are loved by a good God today.

ps: bonus, bonus question. If God made you in love, redeemed you in love - what does that mean for your body? Download the first chapter of Breaking Free from Body Shame to hear my thoughts.