God Is Good: How Enduring Love Shapes Our Lives and Generations

Psalms 100:5

5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. (NIV)

All of us would quickly say ‘yes’ and ‘amen’ to this passage. God is good! There is no doubt that He is good. But what does it mean to be good? We are called to be holy as He is holy, to be perfect as He is perfect. He has predestined us to be conformed to His likeness. It is God’s intention that we are good as He is good. But what does this mean?

In our passage today, good is defined for us as having a love that endures.

The use of the word ‘endure’ makes it clear that we are to keep loving even when our ability to love is pushed beyond what we are capable of. Even then, we continue. When people make life difficult with their actions, words, or attitude in a particular moment, to be good is to remain patient, kind, graceful, and not easily angered. It is to maintain the behavior of God’s love. Paul clues us into what this behavior looks like:

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (NIV)

When we consider what strength and self-discipline it would take to keep loving as our good God does, we become aware of our need for His help. Most of us, when we lose our self-discipline in these moments, will say the most horrible things, even to those we love. Regret and shame overwhelm us because of what we have done or said when our love did not endure. God’s call to be good and to maintain a love that endures requires us to go to Him to receive His help that comes from the Holy Spirit. He is not a spirit of fear, but power, love, and self-discipline. He enables and empowers our love to endure as His love endures.

This good love is powerful beyond the moment. It is generational. So much of our lives is shaped by the most significant moments. These hard times with other people can redirect our life’s trajectory and that of our children. When we keep loving in His goodness, not only is our trajectory redirected to Him, but it also has the power to change the trajectory of those making our lives difficult. Bloodlines are changed for generations.

Love is goodness, meaning this love operates in further goodness. We cannot expect to access this love that changes everything unless we are also obedient to God’s call for higher morals and ethics. What we do and how we live every day, in all interactions at every level, will determine our ability to lean upon the Spirit to love with endurance. Again, the goodness of God is beyond our own power. We must surrender to His good ways as the Holy Spirit helps us. So, let’s be good and let’s love enduringly as He enables us through His own goodness and love.

Prayer: Lord, let me receive You and draw upon Your goodness that I might love with endurance. Amen.