This is a periodic Bible-based devotional produced by Femi Aribisala, an iconoclastic church pastor and bible teacher in Lagos.
[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hen a bed-ridden paralytic was brought to Jesus, he said to him: “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” (Matthew 9:2).
“Be of good cheer, not because I am going to heal your paralysis, but because I have forgiven you your sins. If I heal you and you are still covered in your sins there is no ultimate advantage in that.”
It is a contradiction in terms for God to be good to someone and the person still ends up estranged from God. The goodness of God is for one purpose: to lead us back to God.
When God decided to be really good to us, he gave us Jesus Christ: “But when the kindness and the love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, that having been justified by his grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:4-7).
This means God cannot be any better to us than he has already been. He cannot do anything more for us than he has already done. Jesus Christ is the full expression of the goodness of God. We should not expect anything more.
If Jesus is not enough for us, then God is not enough. With Jesus, it is finished with God’s goodness. Jesus is the unspeakable gift of God. With Jesus, we have received the fullness of God. (John 1:16).
Femi Aribisala is an iconoclastic church pastor in Lagos. He is also a syndicated essayist for a handful publications in Nigeria. Connect with him on Twitter at @FemiAribisala and at his website, www.femiaribisala.com.
