The good news is that I'm discovering that "goodness and love" are always relational. These are not things we have, they are things we express. Sounds basic, but I think more often than not we think of these values as something abstract in us that needs to grow. And while this is somewhat true, love and goodness are more about how we relate. If I were to define these it would be this: Love and goodness are what we do and in what spirit we do it.
It reminds me of a husband I knew who was in a very heated battle with his wife. As he was getting ready to storm out there into the bad weather, God told him clearly that if he left the house he (God) would strike him with lightning. (Did I mention he had been struck once before?) He argued fiercely with the Lord saying that he knew that he was 100% right. But after 45 minutes of standing at the door wrestling with God, he came to the understanding that while he was 100% right in the argument, he was 100% wrong in his spirit. Our spirit in what we do matters infinitely more. This true-life story has ministered to me for many years as I've asked myself in what spirit am I doing what I am doing.
So love and goodness are always relational. Always. And Scripture says these follow us all the days of our life so we're surrounded. Even in the harshest conditions there is love and goodness which brings me to the bad news. I'm untrained!
Yes, untrained. Untrained in seeing it. After a week of being on this journey of writing down the love and goodness that surrounds me, I'm only at #49. Pathetic! We've been so trained to be critical, always judging, finding Murphy's Law, etc... that the eyes of our spirits are dimmed. At least mine are. I am going to keep on working to 1000 and hopefully by the time I get there my eyes will be opened a whole lot more than they are now. If you're reading this, I challenge you to participate and see if you fare any better than me...
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