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Is God Good?
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By: Vance F. Brown
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"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good."
(Psalm 106:1)
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“Safe? Who said anything about safe? ’Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the king, I tell you.” To me, this dialogue expressed by Mr. Beaver in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, a novel by C.S. Lewis, addresses the core question of our Christian faith: Is our King good?
Our “Reflections from the Battle” article from our last newsletter put forth the challenge to surrender to this King of Kings, called Christ, and to follow him into battle – no matter the cost. Maybe that challenge was pre-mature. Because it would be foolish to follow a King or a God - no matter the cost - if we do not believe that He has our best interests at heart.
The question of God’s goodness had me paralyzed many times during this past year. On April 12, 2007, I received a call from our family doctor that the large lump on my son’s neck was not an infection. My 16-year-old first born child had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer. After getting off the phone, I remember turning on the shower, kneeling on the shower floor and crying uncontrollably in my nakedness. “Surely, God!” I wailed, “This cannot be your good will!”
Through the next several months, I watched the consequences of such a diagnosis - the chemotherapy, the weight loss, the spinal taps, the daily sickness, and the discussions about death with my son. During the worst part of the chemotherapy treatment, my son looked like pictures I have seen of Holocaust survivors – every rib showed through his 6 foot, 125 lb. frame; he was pale white; and all of his hair had fallen out. Watching my son suffer in this manner was the most horrific experience of my life. No one will ever convince me that watching my child suffer is a good thing, at least certainly not at the time. So it is easy to agree with Mr. Beaver that God certainly is not safe.
But is He good even in the midst of such a tragedy? Because if God is inherently good, then He must be good all the time and in all circumstances – including cancer. Yet if God is all-powerful, then He has the ability to immediately resolve any of our burdens. So the circumstantial evidence from the sufferings of life that we all experience, in light of God’s power to fix our difficult circumstances, certainly calls God’s goodness into question.
This is the central question, isn’t it? All other questions of our faith lead to this question, and all questions that follow are dependant on our answer to this question. As I have prepared through prayer, study, and reflection to write an article on this subject, I have never struggled more with getting words on paper. And I have felt fear and anxiety as I wrestle with God as I seek His answers. What do I really believe about His goodness – and I mean REALLY believe? So I take full responsibility for this “February” newsletter being almost two months late – I simply have been struggling with this question.
It is inevitable that every true disciple of Christ will have to struggle with the question of God’s goodness. And taking this core question to God feels like an essential part of our training in order to be adequately prepared for the battles that we will face. Satan’s greatest assault, which took out Adam and Eve, is to plant the seed that God is withholding goodness from us: ‘[If you eat the forbidden apple…] “you won’t die!” the serpent hissed. God knows that your eyes will be opened when you eat it. You will become just like God, knowing everything, both good and evil.” ‘(Gen. 3:4-5 NLT) This question also was at the center of Satan’s last temptation of Christ - Satan’s last hope for defeating Christ: “Next the Devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him the nations of the world and all their glory. I will give it all to you if you will worship me.” (Matt. 4:8-9 NLT) In other words Satan is saying, “God is not good to you. He is withholding goodness from you. You can have something better. And right now you have the choice to take the goodness for yourself.”
The early disciples understood the inherent craziness and fear that we often-times feel when trying to obey and follow this “unsafe” King. On their journey on the road to Jerusalem, the disciples had been warned by Jesus about the trouble they would face ahead – the journey to the cross. On the road to Jerusalem “the disciples were filled with dread and the people following behind were overwhelmed with fear.” (Mark 10:32 NLT)
So what will it look like to follow this King to Jerusalem? To His credit, Jesus has never said that road following Him would be easy. To the contrary - He warns us that we must “take up our crosses daily” on this narrow road. (Luke 9:23) And we are told to “rejoice in our sufferings” because of the fruit it bears. (Rom. 5:3-4) So we are either making a choice to follow a sadistic King, who takes delight in our sufferings, or there is something beyond the circumstantial evidence that we cannot yet see – something much more going on in our stories from the eternal perspective.
So now I will pause before continuing with any answers. I want your help! I am encouraging you to wrestle with this question with me over the next 30 days. Let’s all bring this question to God – “Are you good?” I would be honored to read your thoughts and reflections as we, as a Brotherhood, bring this core question before Him - together. Feel free to share your thoughts or experiences with me at Vance@BandofBrothers.org. I will continue this discussion in the next issue of “No Matter the Cost.” And I hope to include some of your comments and reflections in our next newsletter. This is a Brotherhood, and I think the best answer will be found in the body as a whole.
Note: If you email me with some of your reflections, please let me know if you DO NOT want me to share your name or comments in our next newsletter. Otherwise, I will assume that you are giving us permission to publish any or all of your thoughts together with your identity. Please also put “Is God Good?” in the subject line of your email. Thank you!
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