The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. (Psalm 145:9)

Without a doubt, Psalm 145 is my favorite passage of Scripture.  It holds many wonderful truths that give me assurance and hope and great joy.

The verse above is one of the greatest truths in all the Bible.  God is good to everyone.  The Lord helps everyone.

Yet many people, including quite a few Christian believers, will not see how such a thing can be true. How is God good to everyone?

We can think of many people in horrible circumstances, where no help of any kind seemed to intervene.  Women and young girls violently raped.  People of all ages murdered.  People starving in other lands, and even here in our own cities.  Men and women who live out the rest of their lives all alone, having lost their spouse.  People who lose house and belongings to violent storms, fire, or other catastrophic events.  Whole nations at war.

The list of suffering can go on and on. And in many of these circumstances, there seems to be no intervention of goodness.

I think of children growing up right now in terrible poverty, often abandoned by parents.  Children in our own large inner cities.  Children in Haiti, in Cuba, Brazil, India, and in many other parts of the world.  And I wonder why the children must suffer such things.

We may not need to go beyond our own lives or our own family or community to see people in need of some kind of assistance.  No doubt there are times when we plead with God for an answer, a miracle, a mighty rescue from circumstances we face.  Who has not lost a loved one?  Who has not been afraid?

And when we think of such times or experience such times, we may not be able to see where or how God is good to all.  We may begin to feel that God is sometimes very harsh, indeed.  After all, isn’t much of the Bible also given to threats and warnings from God about judgments to come?  And what about hell?  Can a good and merciful God really send millions or billions of people into hell?

Is God truly good to all?  Is there really a mercy that extends to all people?  Does He really help everyone who cries out to Him?

I have no doubt that every word of Scripture is true.  And while I do believe that all Scripture must be balanced, when interpreted, with all the rest of the Bible, I do not believe we need to add any “but” or “if” or other exceptions to this verse.  God really is merciful and good to all living things, and to all people.

When a life is horribly shattered on planet earth we need not think that is the end of the matter.  I would think that the teachings of Jesus (not to mention the rest of Scripture) should make that clear.

Jesus tells us repeatedly throughout the gospels that this life is not all there is, and that we should be placing our hope and all our treasures on the age to come, on the life that begins with resurrection.  And we have the terrible death followed by a wonderful resurrection of Jesus Himself as evidence that He spoke the truth.

Consider the Son of God.  He cried out in agony on the cross as He suffered and died.  He asked why God had forsaken Him.  We need no imagination to understand how such a cry, instead of a mighty rescue, impacted the disciples who had been hoping that Jesus was the Messiah.  Such an end to His life must have sealed their despair.  It was obvious that Jesus was in real pain, in real agony of soul.

But such a terrible injustice and tragedy was not the end of the story.  And quite aside from the need for human salvation (which is why Jesus died on the cross) I believe we needed to see this kind of tragic death, this apparent finality and loss of all hope, this huge absence of a miracle, a rescue or intervention by God.

We needed the example of Jesus so that we might begin to understand what we need to understand about God’s absolute and eternal goodness.  This world and this lifetime does not tell or see all that God has in store for humanity.

God is, as the Scriptures testify, truly and forever righteous.  He will always balance the scales.  He will always set things right again.  The first in this world may very well become the last in the age to come.  And the last, here and now, will become the first in a time that never ends.

It would all sound like wishful thinking, like some children’s bedtime story, something to help ease our sorrows and pain, except that Jesus proved it is true.  He proved it by allowing Himself to be taken by force, falsely accused and judged, beated and tortured beyond recognition, nailed to a cross and put to death.  And then on the third day, Jesus walked out of His tomb.  He did not stagger out, barely conscious and unable to speak, but walked out in full strength and glory, with angels attending.

How do we today really know that Jesus rose from the dead and proved that God’s goodness does not end with death?  Simple.  Look at the frightened and shattered disciples.  In the face of total loss and even fearing for their own lives, they suddenly found courage and a boldness that no longer feared death or suffering.  In the place of dark, hollow fear and dread, they had a fire and passion that made them shout to the whole world: JESUS LIVES!

That same power of God and goodness of God that Jesus received as the obedient Son, is also promised to all people.  The goodness of God is displayed in the life, the death and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus.  And it is promised and proclaimed to all people.

The message is clear: Jesus lives.  Jesus saves.  Jesus rescues and helps and restores.

Good news, indeed.
Jim