Longings Fulfilled

God is the Source of the Good, and from Him flows all manner of Goodness. Goodness is about virtue. The virtues—humility, charity, gratitude, temperance, chastity, patience, and diligence—are the framework for what constitutes a Good person. If a person is Good, the philosophers and theologians say, they’re going to embody these virtues, rather than their opposites.

There’s more to this, though, than the external manifestation of the virtues. Mere obligation, or duty, is not enough. The intention to participate in the Good, a unity and cooperation with God. Not out of duty but in Love. The Christian ethic is one of Love, and from that Love, that union, that relationship, flows every Good act. Virtue is an inside-out kind of thing.

Jesus, on a hillside, the Sea of Galilee below Him, started to speak of those who are blessed (Matthew 5:3–12). He was speaking to the poor, the mistreated, the sorrowful, the broken, the outsiders, the oppressed, the seekers, offering them an invitation to participate in Goodness. He saw this crowd, their pain, their confusion, their desire to find liberation, and He offered them revolution; not with respect to violence but a revolution of Love and Goodness. He validated their pains and their yearnings, and He pointed them toward that which will satisfy: Himself. His Way. The Way of the Kingdom—to do only that which the Father is doing.

Goodness, as a Transcendental, is an expression of who God is. The invitation for all of us is to enjoy who God is by participating in that Goodness, by using our whole Life to display that Goodness to the world around us. That way lies Sainthood. Using every moment as an opportunity to conform ourselves to God, to stand bravely against everything that would oppose the life of virtue.

That leads us further into Jesus, the Author of Life, the Perfecter of faith (Hebrews 12:2). Every other path leads away from Him; Rock Bottom is just a stop along the way. Departing from Life has the consequence of unmaking us, dis-integrating us, until we cease to be at all.

Thank you, God, that you promise to fulfill my deepest desires as I draw near to you and trust you to meet me in my pain, my fear, my longings, with your goodness and grace. Amen.