The Evidence of God’s Goodness

Luke 7:11-16 Soon afterward, Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed him. A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said.Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,” he said, “I tell you, get up.” ¹ Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother. Great fear swept the crowd, and they praised God, saying, “A mighty prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited his people today.”

God’s actions are evidence of His goodness in our and others’ lives. For the widow at Nain, losing her husband and only son meant she was on the verge of being destitute without protection and provision. Jesus knew the culture and the painful future ahead of her, and he showed her compassion, returning her son to her. Her life was transformed in that moment of sheer goodness.

In Exodus 33:9, the Lord responded to Moses’s request to see God’s glory: “And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” Compassion is a characteristic of God’s goodness and of His immeasurable love for us flawed humans.

When we are called to emulate the goodness of God in the land of the living, it is in our actions toward meetings others’ physical, emotional, financial, and spiritual needs that we demonstrate to a non-believing world the character and glory of our God. God’s people are not called to judge or seek power over others but to love through actions, not words. When we first meet the felt needs of others, we can begin to tell them and prove to them that our Father is always good. Let it begin with me, Lord.

Amen.