For over twenty years now, I have had the privilege of being best friends with five of the most amazing women. We have seen each other through so many seasons of life. We have gone through teenage years, college, young adulthood, adulthood, relationships, breakups, loss, marriages, babies, and so much more.
If you look at a description of each woman, we are completely different from one another. What binds us together is our love for Christ. We have all been saved by grace through faith, and it makes us sisters in Him. They are models of the Lord’s goodness in my life. I would do anything for these women.
In the book of Ruth, we meet a young Moabite woman who was so closely tied to her mother-in-law that she would do anything for her. After losing her husband and two sons, Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, planned to return to her home country of Israel. She told her two daughters-in-law that they could return home and find new husbands. One daughter-in-law chose to go home, but Ruth chose to stay with Naomi.
Ruth had never been to Israel. She had no prospect of another husband, and they didn’t really have a plan of how they would provide for themselves. Yet Ruth went. She didn’t abandon her mother-in-law, and God later blessed her.
Ruth gives us a beautiful picture of what it means to live a life of goodness. Ruth gave up everything to serve Naomi. She diligently worked in Boaz’s field to provide for her household. She found favor in the eyes of Boaz, not because of her beauty but because of her character. She followed God and eventually became the great grandmother of King David and many generations later of Jesus.
If you were to ask someone today what it means to be good, they would more than likely say something like, “it’s doing right by others” or “being kind” – something along the lines of etiquette that is typically defined by the expectations of society. When we look at Scripture’s definition, we see that goodness is deeper than that, because it is defined by the character of God Himself.
With God as our example, we see that goodness is more than being kind. It is living a morally pure life. It is hating what is evil and clinging to what is good (Romans 12:9). It is offering forgiveness (Matthew 18:21-22) and service (Matthew 5:41) far beyond what society would expect. For believers, when we think of the word good, we are to think about Jesus. It is living as Christ Himself lived, showing grace, mercy, and compassion, which is done through a love for God.
When we look throughout Scripture, we see God’s goodness front and center. God made a rescue plan from the moment sin was ushered in to provide a Rescuer to restore and redeem humanity. God provided for His people over and over again, even when they turned their backs on Him to follow false gods. God is good in our own lives to provide what we need when we need it. He hears our prayers. He offers us forgiveness and freedom through Jesus. He does abundantly more than all we can ask or imagine.
When we take stock of all of God’s good ways in our lives, we can’t help but to live in the same way. We have experienced immense grace, kindness, and love; therefore, we want others to experience the same as well. Like Ruth, our goodness is not something we do for attention, praise, or earning righteousness before God. It is a way of life meant to bring glory and honor to our king.
Today, take stock of your own life. Are you living a “good” life as the world would define it or as Scripture does? Is your motivation to earn the praise of others or for the gospel to go out to a watching world? The Holy Spirit is the one who cultivates goodness in our hearts and lives. Will you allow Him to work in and through you today?
