Imagine a pathway with Jesus and a man standing on it. This is the beginning of a trail, and there are not many trees or branches around. The man is covered with the gold, jewels and pearls that Jesus gave him. He’s also surrounded by close friends and family that he takes comfort in. His stomach is satisfied and his throat is moist from drinking fresh water that Jesus gave him. The journey will take them 20 miles through the jungle to a campsite. Keep this image in your head.

The Goodness of God

“Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” - Romans 2:4

One of the key purposes of the goodness of God is to lead one to repentance. The goodness of God magnifies His grace toward an undeserving person (which we all are, yet we are still recipients of His goodness because we breathe air, live and exist. But remember, this goodness is not something that we deserve, nor is it an obligation of God. We should be content even if we are not met with large scale provision (1 Timothy 6:8; Philippians 4:12-13). However, it’s the goodness of God that should bring one to repentance.

Partaking in the sufferings of Christ

Christ often spoke of following Him completely. He challenged a rich man (who followed the Law of Moses) to give away all of his riches and follow Him (Mark 10:17-27). This was a test to see if the rich man truly had a heart inclined to follow the Lord, or if the man was complacent with being at arms length, not willing to count all of his riches as dung, that he may gain the knowledge of Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:8). Jesus told His disciples that because they gave all that they had to follow Him; they would get treasures up in Heaven. The Bible teaches that those who are crucified with Christ, are also made alive with Christ (Romans 6:1-6). In like manner that Christ was physically crucified, when we partake in the sufferings of Christ, having the body of sin killed, we shall then be made alive, living in the newness of His Resurrection. The Bible says that those who are dead (crucified with Christ) are free from sin- and those who are free from sin are not servants of sin, but servants of Christ (Romans 6:6; Romans 6;16-17). Additionally, Jesus says that you can’t serve two masters- whether that master is money or some other god. You either are servant to one or the other (Matthew 6:24).

So let’s go back to our imagery at the beginning of this article.

The man is at the start of the trail, covered in jewels and gold and pearls, and his belly is fed, thirst quenched, surrounded by friends and family. Certainly the goodness of God is physically evident! Jesus begins to walk and the man begins to follow. After about 4 miles, the trees around the trail begin to come closer in, and it’s harder to walk. The man realizes that in order to not get tangled up in the branches, he might have to ditch a few of the ruby necklaces that he’s wearing. Eight miles into the trail, his feet are killing him, so he decides to ditch all of the extra jewels that he has on that’s weighing him down. By this time, all of his friends decided to head back and only his family remains with him with Jesus leading the way. Twelve miles in, he realizes that he’s out of water and food, and getting quite hungry. His family decided that it’s best that they head back to civilization. The last 8 miles look dreary, and by this time, it’s only the man and Jesus. He has no more jewelry, no more food, no more water- all of those things that when he first started, he realized was the goodness of God, and meant to draw him to repentance, they were all left in his pursuit of a continued journey with God. He also realized that those things were not owed to him, but given merely by the good pleasure of God. The only thing of value left is the Lord Himself. Now the question I’m posing to all readers today is: Do you see Christ as the most attractive jewel in your collection? If in your walk with God, you must shed off everything just to walk the trail that Christ intends for you to walk- will Christ be so valuable to you that you continue on? Will the absence of tangible things cause you to revert back, or be complacent so long as you can keep those “things”? Will we esteem “things” for what they are – the goodness of God that’s meant to bring us to the point of repentance- and not as the reward for our repentance?

There might be some reading this article that have realized that as they grow in Christ, they may not obtain certain possessions that other people around them may have. But you also discern that those around you who do have these “possessions” often lack in their growth in Christ. This article is for you. Don’t be discouraged by what others around you may have naturally - keep godliness with contentment, because that is great gain (1Timothy 6:6). I will admit that not everyone will be called to a road quite like this. But to those who are, the Apostle Paul is our shining biblical example and we can, be encouraged, and know that the abundance of God’s grace is poured out on those who suffer all the more for the sake of Christ!

- Tony Stone