Saturday, May 31
- Scripture: Genesis 1:31 – “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.”
- Reflection: Again, we are reminded of the inherently positive and ‘good’ nature of God’s creation. Of course, the world is complex with cycles of life and death. Human experience includes suffering. So sometimes we ask, how is the world good when bad things happen?
Yet God doesn’t promise life or existence without challenges and sorrows and losses and setbacks. Rather God’s love promises to be present with us at all times and in all places. That is the essence of the world’s goodness. Love abides with us, and endures with us, through the best and most difficult of experiences and events. God’s intentions for us are wholeness of identity and personhood, fullness of life, wellbeing. This is intended for every soul in the world: all humans are God’s children. All beings are God’s creatures. The world is God’s creation. It is designed and framed by goodness.
Humans have the capacity to mess up. To make mistakes. Or to intentionally cause harm to others. Our systems and structures often reinforce the privilege and authority and power of some people at the expense of others.
Yet God’s ideals for a holy kingdom on earth would turn this upside down, and require equitable and sustainable social, legal, political, vocational, educational, spiritual, environmental, and economic systems for all peoples. Goodness in God’s kingdom on earth envisions that everyone has access to resources and relationships that are essential to quality of life. Right now, we know such a vision remains an ideal to which we aspire. Yet it is God’s design for humankind. It happening now. It is an ongoing, unfolding act of creation and we are invited to participate in it, though we won’t see it come to fruition in our lifetimes. - Spiritual Practice Prompt: What in the world around you shows evidence of goodness? Find some examples, and then express gratitude at the end of the day for those moments when goodness shines through.
Song:
- “What a Beautiful Name” by Hillsong Worship: https://youtu.be/nQWFzMvCfLE?si=dawvTd620N3K6uEU
Human greatness does not lie in wealth or power, but in character and goodness. People are just people, and all people have faults and shortcomings, but all of us are born with a basic goodness. — Anne Frank
Goodness is about character – integrity, honesty, kindness, generosity, moral courage, and the like. More than anything else, it is about how we treat other people. — Dennis Prager
May 31 Spring Devotional