Making Things Good

Mundane chores cause my mind to think more deeply than usual. Unloading the dishwasher, I found myself humming one of my favorite songs by Caedmon's Call, "There is a Reason". Specifically, the chorus struck me as deeply significant: "He makes all things good, He makes all things good," and I suddenly wondered, What if making things good is exactly what we are supposed to do as followers of Christ?  Didn't Jesus reconcile us to God through his work on the cross, and command his disciples to also take up a cross and follow?  If Jesus' ministry was to heal, help, and bring the light of truth to people's lives, then shouldn't that be what our lives are about as well?

It may seem too simple for an epiphany, but it got me thinking about how Christians make following Christ into a religion, when really following Christ is the opposite of religion. If you think about it, religion is law and captivity. Religion is Egypt. Safe and predictable, yet demanding and painful. In "Egypt" we know our place, we have food and shelter, we are protected by a powerful nation. Oh, and we are slaves. God's redemptive power liberates us through Christ by calling us out of religious slavery and into a free and spirit-led life.

Once we are free, we simply follow Christ. When we follow, it means we are imitating, we are being like  the Rabbi. If Jesus went around literally making things good, then we should too. What does this mean in every day life?

If someone is hungry, feed them.
If someone is thirsty, give them something to drink.
If someone needs a place to belong, invite them into a loving community.
If someone is lost, help them find their way (note: this does not mean judge them and tell them to live their life in the way that you think is best).

Whenever and wherever we encounter evil, we need to do whatever we can to make things good. Of course, that means something different for every unique situation. We have to learn to listen to the Spirit for direction when we don't know how to make things good in difficult circumstances. Sometimes we are just a part of the process, and we may never see the end result, but we have to do our part anyway.

The words of Paul encourage us to, "not let evil conquer you, but overcome evil with good," (Romans 12:21).

The Kingdom of God is alive and well among us. Let us live in that reality by transforming the evil we encounter in the world into GOOD.