Unlimited Goodness

Jamie and I have recently begun to realize that there are a number of things on our bucket list that we need to stop putting off for "someday" and go out and do if we are to going to get to them while we are still young enough and strong enough to do them. For me, most of these are backpacking trips I'd like to take. I have my eye on the Tour du Mont Blanc, a 110 mile mountain trail through France, Italy, and Switzerland. It will take at least a year to make plans for this. I'm working on it. But, an easier bucket-list hike that I was able to make arrangements for in an afternoon is the 40 mile Trans-Catalina trail, which we are now set to hike in April. Just getting an adventure on the calendar makes me feel more free and more alive. I can't wait to get out of town and feel the thrill of being immersed in the beauty of God's good creation.

I've been writing to you for a few months now about the theme of goodness in the scriptures. So far, I've written entirely about the goodness of creation, and it has been a joyful experience. This week, we come down with a bump. In Genesis 2:17-18 (NIV), God says to humanity, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” But the humans do eat from the tree, having become convinced that God does not have their best interest in mind but desires instead to hold them back from their full potential. As the serpent said to the woman in Genesis 3:5 (NIV), “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” It turns out that knowing good and evil does not make the humans more godlike but separates them from God and causes them to suffer and eventually die, just as God had said.

What is the knowledge of good and evil? This is something I have wondered about for many years. Is it simply knowing that both good and evil exist? Is it the ability to discern what is good from what is evil? Is it the capacity to do both good and evil? All of the above? Something else? Regardless, the humans wanted to expand their horizons in some way beyond what is good to include also what is evil. They were deceived into believing that this would be liberating and empowering. But it turned out that evil did not bring about the self-actualization that they were seeking. Evil, as it turns out, is just evil. All it does is hurt and destroy. And humans had now unleashed this destructive force upon themselves and into the world.

Do you find the first humans at all relatable? Have you ever found yourself wondering if perhaps God is holding out on you and if what God has forbidden might be more fulfilling than what God has freely given? Have you wondered if it might be thrilling and empowering to explore beyond the boundaries of goodness? All of this is a lie that leads only to hurt, destruction, and ultimately, death. I know, at least in part, because I have tried it and seen the result. But as it turns out, goodness is not a limitation in the way that the liar who deceives humanity would have us think. The goodness of God is boundless. And the opportunity to enjoy goodness is also boundless. The beautiful hikes I will never have time to take in a single lifetime is only one example. There are many more - friendships, food, art, and acts of service, kindness and compassion, all of which we would never be able to exhaust even in many lifetimes. Good is, in fact, very good. And God has provided goodness to us in abundance. Let's pursue it and enjoy it together.

A prayer for today:

God, show me your goodness and teach me to delight in it. Don't let me be deceived into desiring or pursuing what is evil. But let me pursue what is good. Most of all, let me pursue knowing you in all your goodness, and let me be formed in your likeness. Amen.

Love in Christ,

Michelle