“Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”
This phrase is repeated throughout Psalm 118, and I just keep coming back to the part of the verse that says “for He is good”. God isn’t just good in a worldly sense. He’s not good in the way that we think of Mother Theresa. No, for He alone is the Source of goodness. The very reason that we know whether anything or anyone is good is because He has instilled this in us. I am reminded of a quote by C.S. Lewis, an atheist who became a Christian after much deliberation, “My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?”
We know. Deep down, we know that this world is not how it should be. Everything has been tainted by sin and its ramifications are great and troubling. Suffering causes many people to reject God, but why do we see tragedies as suffering and not just “how things are"? It’s because the Lord is GOOD. He is the source of goodness and it is obvious that we have been cut off from that and this world is not how it should be.
I also keep thinking about the fact that His love “endures forever”. As a finite human, forever (eternity) is pretty incomprehensible. I mean, sure I can give you a definition of it, but trying to imagine it is mind boggling. But God’s love goes there. His love won’t end tomorrow, or in 2083, it won’t end 10 quadrillion years from now. He will love us still, because He Himself is Love. What a comfort we have in that.
Speaking of eternity, verse 24 says “This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it”. Living with an eternal mindset is important in the Christian walk. It’s easy to be bogged down by the disappointments of yesterday or the uncertainties of tomorrow. We are called to live with minds and hearts that have eternal perspectives, but we’re also called to embrace God’s gift of today. Yet we’re not to use this gift for ourselves, rather to honor the Giver of all gifts, from whom all blessings flow. May we live this day in a way that honors Him who gave us life, and promises to give us life everlasting.
-- Kristin Baldock