Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

                                                                                                                 James 1:17 

God is the ultimate Giver. When we understand that everything good in our lives comes from Him, we are able to respond to Him appropriately with joy, gratitude, and thanksgiving. Every good and perfect gift comes from our Creator, the One who loves us and sent Jesus to become the atoning sacrifice for our sin. So how should we respond to such a wonderful, benevolent, and good God? I believe that our response should be two-fold.

First, we are to worship Him. To worship someone is to have a reverent affection and adoration for that person. When we worship, we are showing devotion, respect, and esteem. The truth is, we all worship. The problem is, not everyone worships God. But anytime we place someone or something above our devotion and reverence for God, we are being idolatrous. Even good things can become more important to us than our relationship with God and when that happens, we have lost focus on what is most important. Consider the following regarding worship:

Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; He also is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before Him, strength and joy are in His place.

                                                                                                     1 Chronicles 16:23-27

This passage, although in the old covenant, gives us a template for worshiping and praising God under the new covenant. We should sing and tell of His salvation everyday. We should let the nations know of His wonderful deeds. We should fear (reverence) Him above all other gods since other gods do not actually exist and are merely idols. We are to worship the one true God who made the heavens and the earth. And we are to have strength and joy in our lives because of Him. God is good and the Giver of all good things. We should be praising Him daily for whom He is and what He continues to do for us!

But secondly, we are to pass along the goodness that we receive from Him and pour it into the lives of others around us. His commandment for the church today is as follows: 

This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.

                                                                                                                     1 John 3:23 

When we believe in Christ (place our trust in Him alone as Savior) and love others as we love ourselves, we begin to experience the goodness of the Christian life. There is nothing more rewarding than resting in the finished work of Jesus and then allowing His goodness to flow out of our hearts into the lives of others (John 7:37-38). Believing and loving should be the two words in which we focus all of our efforts.

In addition, we see a direct correlation between the generosity and benevolence of God and our obligation to pass that along to others. Consider the following:

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

                                                                                                                            Matthew 7:11  

In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

                                                                                                                     Matthew 7:12 

While these two declarations are often separated in some Bibles, the original language clearly connects God’s benevolence with what should be our willingness to treat others appropriately. Because God is the ultimate Giver of goodness we too should be a people that demonstrate that same kindness, benevolence, and goodness in the lives of others.

When dealing with others, are you allowing the Spirit to fill you with patience, kindness, and goodness? Use the passage in Chronicles as a template and spend some time worshiping God today, thanking Him for the goodness in your life. Then ask Him to fill you with the fruit of the Spirit!