It's All Good

“In Joppa, there was a disciple named Dorcas…who was always doing good.” Acts 9:36

Believe it or not, God never says to be good.

You can look if you like, but He really doesn’t. He doesn’t because He knows we can’t. There is no way in heaven or on earth we can be good by ourselves “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”(Rom 3:23), and, “No one is good—except God alone”(Mk 10:18). Yes, feel helpless. Yes, feel hopeless, for into such desperation and distress, God’s goodness became ours when “Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us…and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good”(Tit 2:14). In other words, you can’t BE good by yourself anytime, but with Christ as your life, you can DO good all the time. And you should.

One day, back in the book of Acts, a corpse, washed and dressed in death, was laid on a bed in the town of Joppa. The deceased’s name was Dorcas, and she was known for “always doing good”(Acts 9:36). As two on-the-run, out-of-breath disciples hurried Peter up the stairs to her side, those who had been the recipients of her “doing good” held out proof for him to see. “All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing Dorcas had made for them while she was still with them”(Acts 9:39). When Peter prayed, God raised Dorcas back to life on earth for His glory—“This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord”(Acts 9:42), and so she could keep doing good—“Peter called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive”(Acts 9:41).

So stop trying to be good and start doing good. Trust God for His goodness in Christ, and turn the focus of your life from yourself to Him. “For you are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has already prepared for you to do”(Eph 2:10). Get busy—life on earth doesn’t last long, and God has lots for us to do. In innumerable ways, big and small, through kind words, cut lawns, earnest prayers, cheerful smiles, honest time-sheets, hearty casseroles, tender touches, caring conversations, sincere thanks, and an unending list of other actions and attitudes, we are to imitate Jesus, who “went about doing good”(Acts 10:38). Don’t get tired(Gal 6:9), be devoted(Titus 3:14), and be ready(Titus 3:1). God always has good for us to do.

When you let God be what you can’t be—good, you can then do what you should do—good. And in the end, others will have something to hold in their hands because of Who is in your heart.

I guess you could say, “It’s all good!”