What exactly is ‘good’? To get the adjective ‘good’ associated with us or our name we must do good things. I can know a man is a good husband by the way he treats his wife. He protects her, he provides for her, he communicates regularly with her, makes her feel secure. To the best of his ability, he doesn’t allow harm to come upon her and he doesn’t want her to be in need or suffer pain. He doesn’t want to give her a reason not to trust him. This definition of good makes sense. The only trouble is when we apply it to God, many times He will not seem to fit its qualifications.
Life is littered with things we consider not to be good. Facing up to this reality can cause some mental anguish. I can identify with King David in the Psalms. I have cried out, ‘Where are You? Why won’t You communicate regularly with me?’ Many times I have thought, ‘God, I’m sure if You had tried to the best of Your ability You could have protected me. Why did You allow that pain and suffering? How can that be good?’
It would be foolish and ignorant to attempt a philosophical explanation for all the bad stuff that happens. A comprehensive answer (and only God could give that) would extend past our human understanding. So, trapped in humanity, all I can do (with God’s help) is adjust our perspective so we can understand a little better some of those seemingly ‘bad’ things life brings along.
When attempting to merge our knowledge of God being good with the ‘bad’ He allows to happen, the first thing we must understand and accept is this - God has a different perspective from us. He views everything from a redemptive position where everything serves a purpose and nothing is wasted or lost. We see this perspective emerge in scriptures like Romans 8:28-29, ‘… in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose’. My concern with this scripture is that it gets over-used as a quick-fix answer, to the point it becomes a cop-out. It has been carelessly quoted to people going through a deep crisis. It doesn’t provide a complete answer but it is comforting to know God is the master salvage engineer. He can redeem anything. I like what Richard Wurmbrand from ‘Voice of the Martyrs’ says about the bad or ‘evil’ things that happen in life: ‘Evil for the Christian is only unfinished good’. What makes his statement credible is he has suffered more pain and persecution for his faith than most of us would in ten life times.
As we appreciate God’s sovereignty we must understand that His perspective will affect the definition of good and bad. They will be redefined from His position as an omnipotent eternal God. God’s definition of ‘good’ is different from ours. It extends past the parameters of time and space. Mark 10:17-18, ‘… a man ran up to him (Jesus) and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good - except God alone”‘.
How could Jesus not be good? If anyone deserves the title of good, He does. Look at the things He did, the miracles, the mercy, the compassion. On our scale of goodness Jesus was the ultimate. Jesus responded the way He did because the man who called Him ‘good teacher’ was reacting to what he saw at the time; the miracles, the good deeds, the compassion… He was assessing what was good through human eyes. He was using our definition of ‘good’, not God’s, and Jesus knew this. Jesus wasn’t saying He was bad by rejecting his comment. He was making the point that only God can know what is truly good because He views it through the eyes of eternity, from where you can see the big picture.
True good can only be assessed through both time and eternity. Locked in time and space we can’t have an eternal perspective. Jesus wasn’t the first to point out the eternal perspective of what is ‘good’. This is Joseph talking to his brothers years later when they could all see the big picture, ‘You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives’ (Genesis 50:20). I went through a painful break-up with a girl friend. It affected me deeply. At the time it was the worst thing that had ever happened to me. The heartache was heavy. I remember questioning God: Why didn’t You protect me? Why did You let me walk through it? It wasn’t good. But when I look at it with time as my vantage point, it has been one of the best things for me. I’m a different person now. I have changed for the good. I’m at a place in God, faith and life where I would never have been without it. Only God could have known that, because He sees through the eyes of eternity - the best vantage point you can get. What was bad at the time had a purpose of good; only time could reveal it.
The best example of ‘bad’ being ‘good’ is the Cross. At the time it was the most horrible thing that could have happened. But now as we stand back it’s plain to see what was bad was really good and the best thing that ever happened to humanity. Peter was determined to stop it from happening when Jesus first spoke of it. From where he stood in time it looked like a bad thing. (Can you imagine how he must have felt when his attempt to be loyal and protect Jesus was met with the response, ‘Get behind me Satan’?) What about when Jesus was being arrested in the garden? Simon Peter cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant to protect Jesus. He thought a bad thing was happening, and it was, from the point in time he was observing it. Your vantage point makes all the difference in defining what is good. Eternity is as high as it gets. God sits in eternity and saw what no human eye saw at the time. What was most bitter at the time is now the sweetest. Doesn’t it amaze you how the scene of a murder, a bloody crucifixion, is now the most precious thing to each one of us?
When ‘bad’ things happen in life, adjust your perspective as Richard Wurmbrand did and view it as ‘unfinished good’. Take comfort in the fact you are in the hands of a God whose specialty is redemption.
(All Bible quotes from the NIV)