The Giver of Everything Good

Last time I wrote about God as a great giver of all good things. Let's continue. Just to begin the list, he has given us
life, a beautiful earth to live on, five marvelous senses we can use to observe the world around us, and a mind to consider everything we observe. More than just rational beings -- people who can think -- he made us relational beings -- people who can be connected to each other, and people who will want to have a connection with him. When we try to count all these blessings, there are so many that we may spontaneously break into praise when we think of them!

Psalm 103 does just that: it starts by saying David is determined to praise the Lord "with my whole heart" in v 1, and goes on and on talking about the many "benefits" of the Lord, (NIV), the "good things he does for me" (NLT) in v 2. The benefits include forgiveness, healing of diseases, defeating death and giving us love and compassion. He fills our lives with "good things" and gives us the energy and hope of the young, verses 3-5.  Is this just metaphorical talk? No, because all those things belong to us now, in Christ Jesus our Lord: "By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence." (2 Peter 1:3.)

God works for the oppressed, those who are treated unfairly, v 6 -- often through the compassion and generous actions of people who know his love, and are willing to show his love through acts that serve others in need. In verses 7-18, God is described as being compassionate, slow to anger, merciful, like a father to small children, and knowing how weak we are, he deals gently with us and continues to love us forever. Now, if you were worshipping Baal back in that day, the description would be much different -- Baal was a god who would only be satisfied, for the moment, with the most extravagant sacrifices and might at any moment destroy you on a whim.

Is it any wonder that Jesus echoes the description of God as a father, in Luke 11:13, saying "So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" We will look at the generous and life-giving gift of the Holy Spirit next time.