“Once a religious leader asked Jesus this question: ‘Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?’ ‘Why do you call me good?’ Jesus asked him. ‘Only God is truly good.’” -Luke 18:18 & 19
Have you ever said about someone, “She’s such a good person,” or “He’s a good person”? I’ve found myself saying this many times, admiring people who do right by others. But when I read the verse above, I was completely taken aback! How can anyone be good, if Jesus Himself said He wasn’t good – that only the Father was good?
Though it is a figure of speech, “being good” brings up an important point. You might have heard it said before, good doesn’t get us into heaven. That seems kind of harsh, doesn’t it? However, Jesus wasn’t interested in good. He made the statement “only God is good”, because only God is perfect, and no one on earth is perfect. The Pharisees got tripped up on this point – after all, they did all the right things! They were “good” people. But, they completely missed the boat when they encountered Jesus – that He was the truth, He was their salvation – and they didn’t even recognize Him.
There is nothing we can do to make ourselves good, or perfect. The truth is, none of us are good on our own. But through Jesus, we have been provided a way out. The one thing we can do is receive the gift of Jesus, so that we can be saved from our imperfections and live in eternity with Him. When we receive God into our lives, we become more than we ever could be, and His “good” rubs off on us, which then rubs off on others.
Why not receive God’s goodness today? “For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.” -Psalm 100:5
