Text: And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. (Mark 10:17-18)
Tweet: Let’s take a look at the fundamental of life’s fundamentals. It is a profound truth that must be understood for the purpose of life to be perceived. It is found in the seemingly simple response of our Lord to being called “Good Master†by the Rich Young Ruler (Mark 10:17-18). Jesus asks this young seeker of eternal life, “Why do you call me good?†He then adds these utterly important words that the casual reader of Scripture carelessly passes over rather than seriously ponders: “There is none good but one, who is, God.â€
When most people think of evil they think of bloodthirsty terrorists, infamous mass murderers, or notorious child abusers. However, evil is actually the inevitable consequence of the absence of God, who is the only good. No matter what good fallen man attempts to do apart from God, his actions are doomed to inevitably result in something bad rather than something good, since they are void of God who is the only source of good in this fallen world.
Almost everyone I know, including my brothers and sisters in Christ, believes in the possibility of good apart from God. They believe self-serving politicians and selfish people do many good things without any consideration of Christ. They perform “good” works without any felt need of Christ’s help nor of their “good†deeds resulting in Christ’s glory.
Little known to the vast majority of people today on planet earth is the fact that just beneath the surface of perceived good in this fallen world is the diabolical evil that got Satan thrown out of Heaven and Adam and Eve thrown out of the Garden of Eden. It is the belief that we can produce good on our own and for our own name’s sake, independent of God and indifferent to whether or not it glorifies the name of His Son Jesus Christ.
For fallen men (sinners) to join league with fallen angels in an effort to prove good possible apart from God is one thing, but for the saints to call such efforts “good” is something else altogether. We, who have exchanged the filthy rags of our own righteousness for the seamless robe of Christ perfect righteousness, who have been saved by Christ’s good work for us, not by any of our “good†works for Christ, as well as by God’s grace, not our own goodness, should know better!
To have a good year necessitates a right definition of good. According to Jesus, the one and only true God, He alone is good and apart from Him there is no good. Therefore, anything in our lives, homes, churches or country void of Christ cannot possibly be good. Indeed, it will inevitably prove itself evil, since evil in its final analysis is nothing but the inevitable consequence of the absence of Christ, who is the only good in this fallen world.
Now that you know what, or should I say who, good is, here’s hoping you’ll have a good year. I pray it will be Christ-filled, not Christ-forsaking; otherwise, there’s no possibility of the new year being a good year in your life.