My God is Good to All
I mentioned yesterday that the grace of God is for those who return to Him, not for those who play Him like a fool and keep returning to their sin and expecting Him to just overlook their rebellion the whole time. But this doesn’t mean God is just cruel to those who aren’t Christians. Verse 9 of Psalm 145 says this: “The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.”
I think one of the temptations that many Christians face is to look on those who haven’t embraced God as unworthy of respect. We can often look down on those who don’t share our values, our beliefs, our joy in Christ!
But consider this verse. God has compassion on all He has made. The saved, the unsaved, the good, the bad and the ugly – God’s compassion is for all.
God's Compassionate Love
Let’s not forget that every human being is a creation of God. Yes, they may have rejected Him, embraced evil and rebellion and gone their own way. They may be living in ways that hurt the world around, hurt themselves and hurt God. But even so, the Word says, God has compassion on them.
Now, please know that this doesn’t mean that God forgives everybody of everything. If God just forgave everyone with no condition, then there would be no justice. God can forgive everybody of everything, but it is those who seek His forgiveness through repentance that find it.
His compassion, in this case, is more general. For example, Jesus said this in Matthew 5 - “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:43–45 NIV11)
Universal Compassionate Kindness
God may only forgive those who repent, but He is still good and kind even to those who reject him. He has set up a world in which all people, evil or good, righteous or unrighteous, may enjoy the blessings of sunshine, rain, food, music, love, laughter, puppies and kittens and all manner of wonderful things.
Ultimately, these things don’t satisfy our souls, of course. Ultimately it is only a relationship with God that can heal and bless us fully, but the God of this world doesn’t withhold basic respect and courtesy to those who don’t believe. And friends, neither should we. We must treat all peoples – regardless of their place in life, their ethics, their values, with basic compassion.
Who can you show compassion to today? Who can you be good to today? Don’t just be kind to those in your circle. Like the great, gracious God, be good to all people and show Him to the world as you do.
