God is the Source of All Good

They’re becoming a thing of the past, but I love a good potluck meal. I grew up in the Midwest where you’d be hard-pressed to find a large gathering of people that didn’t consist of a potluck meal, with most dishes made from grandmothers’ recipes, being served out of Crock-Pots or passed-down Pyrex pans.

 

While potlucks can make for good, if not adventurous, meals, it took me a long time to realize that my life and relationship with God is nothing like a potluck dinner. Growing up, I thought that living righteously was a combination of a lot of different dishes - a dash of purity, a spoonful of self-control, a dollop of reading my Scripture. I thought that the goal was to end up with some version of good works mixed with a little bit of God’s blessing. But like David says in Psalm 16, I eventually learned that I am unable to bring any good to the table. Apart from God, I would be a vessel of darkness. 

 

This idea of being utterly empty of good apart from God is hard for us to grapple with, because we have a high risk of accepting a disoriented definition of goodness. 

The world associates goodness with things like morality and kindness. However, we know from Scripture, that which is good is that which glorifies God. And in our sinful, broken flesh, we can’t do that. Not even one inch of our hearts or ounce of our love could glorify God before He redeemed us. In His grace, through His salvation, He has given us the opportunity to both experience and reflect His goodness.

 

Your relationship with God is not a potluck where you bring your best and He brings His. No, the good news is God brings the whole meal! He brings every dish, every utensil. He brings the table, the decorations, even the music. He brings it all and invites you to sit down and delight, because He is the Source of all good.