Man is not good and cannot be good.
Jesus says to His disciples:
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“The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” (Matthew 13:11-12).
If we love God a little, He will enable us to love Him the more. The more we love God, the more we are enabled to love Him. If we take one step toward God, He will take 100 steps toward us.
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Power of Love
A friend gifted a man a lantern. He lit it and hung it up in the middle of his room. On doing this, he noticed that the curtains in the windows were old and tattered. So he changed them.
Then he noticed that the paint was peeling off the walls. So he had the room repainted. Then he observed that the furniture in the room was all scratched. So he had them replaced.
Systematically, in the light of the lantern, he discovered so many defects in the house that he had not seen before. So many things needed to be changed.
That is what Jesus, “the light of the world,” does. (John 8:12).
“The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.” (Matthew 4:16).
Fleeting Shadows
Have you ever meditated on the scriptures that talk of the shadow of death? There are 20 references to this in the New King James Bible, from Job to Luke.
What is the shadow of death?
Have you ever seen the shadow of death? Is it even real? What is the difference between death and the shadow of death? Have you ever seen your shadow? What happens to it?
It disappears.
Do you remember your shadow? No, you do not, because your shadow is inconsequential. It is of no importance.
So also is the shadow of death. It is of no consequence. Many are afraid of shadows. But shadows are not real. Shadows are inconsequential. Shadows are not substance.
David says:
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me.” (Psalm 23:4).
We walk through the valley of the shadow of death every day. (Isaiah 9:2). Many are afraid of the shadow of death, but not of death itself. (Job 24:17). This is not very smart. Death, in this life, is only a shadow.
Jesus exposed the lie of death. He disgraced death. He died and rose from the dead. He “abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” (2 Timothy 1:10).
The writer of Hebrews says:
“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Hebrews 2:14-15).
The real death is the second death. It comes, not in this life, but in the afterlife, in the lake of fire.
“But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8).
Shadow Life
The writer of 1 Chronicles reveals that:
“Our days on earth are as a shadow.” (1 Chronicles 29:15).
Bildad echoes this in Job 8:9.
The psalmist concurs:
“My days are like a shadow that lengthens, and I wither away like grass.” (Psalm 102:11).
David also says:
“Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.” (Psalm 144:4).
What happens to shadows? They are fleeting. They disappear. You do not even remember them.
Job laments.
“How frail is humanity! How short is life, how full of trouble! We blossom like a flower and then wither. Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear.” (Job 14:1-2).
David says:
“Surely every man walks about like a shadow; surely they busy themselves in vain.” (Psalm 39:6).
Solomon also concurs:
“Who knows what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he passes like a shadow?” (Ecclesiastes 6:12).
Man is a shadow. His life is like a shadow. But God is substance.
James says:
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17).
Shadow of Good Things
In this life, we have shadows of the afterlife. The writer of Hebrews says:
“The law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things.” (Hebrews 10:1).
What we refer to as good things in this life are only shadows. At best, they are shadows of good things to come. The truly good things are not in this life. The good things are in the life to come.
Paul says:
“Let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” (Colossians 2:16-17).
God is not a shadow. God is substance. To appropriate God, we have to go beyond the shadow to the substance. But the substance can only be realised here on earth by faith.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” (Hebrews 11:1-3).
God is not a derivative. God is the essence of all good things. He is the essence of goodness. He is the substance of goodness.
God is not a good person. God is good. (Psalm 73:1). The Bible does not say God is good all the time. That is a non sequitur. It is like saying a woman is a woman all the time. A woman is a woman, full stop. God is good, full stop.
A man is righteous because he meets certain standards. But God is the universal standard. He is the standard of goodness. He is the standard of righteousness.
That is what Jesus means when He says: “There is None Good but One, that is God.” (Matthew 19:17). Only God is good. Only God can be good. God is good, all by Himself.
That is what David means when he says:
“O my soul, you have said to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord, my goodness is nothing apart from You.’” (Psalm 16:2).
Essence of Goodness
God has goodness in Himself. God is goodness, and goodness is God. But man is not good and cannot be good. Man does not have goodness in himself. Man can only receive goodness. Man can do good, but he cannot be good.
We cannot be good without God. We cannot be good outside of God. Only God can make us good. God says:
“I am the Lord, who makes all things.” (Isaiah 44:24).
Jesus says:
“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.” (Matthew 12:33).
It is God who makes the good tree good.
“Thus says the Lord God: ‘I will take also one of the highest branches of the high cedar and set it out. I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and will plant it on a high and prominent mountain. On the mountain height of Israel, I will plant it; and it will bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a majestic cedar. Under it will dwell birds of every sort; in the shadow of its branches they will dwell. And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the Lord, have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree, dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish; I, the Lord, have spoken and have done it.” (Ezekiel 17:22-24).
Hope of Righteousness
God is our highest good and greatest treasure. He is the delight of the soul. Nothing compares to Him.
The very best thing that can happen to a man is not to win the lottery or to be cured of terminal cancer. The very best thing that can happen to a man is to be like God. To be exactly like God. The greatest hope is the hope of righteousness. (Galatians 5:5). The greatest value of all, by far, is God.
Jesus says:
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6).
This righteousness is not that of men but of God. Only the righteousness of God brings fulfilment. Everything else is vanity upon vanity. (Ecclesiastes 12:8). It cannot satisfy. Fulfilment is a blessing from God and God alone.
“For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.” (Psalm 107:9). CONCLUDED.
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