Follow up to Unleashing Goodness

My good friend Kenny responded to my "Unleashing Goodness" thought with a great word on the mystical things that happen within human beings by the power and goodness of God. He spurred me on to write more. Thanks Ken. You have a good habit of stretching those in proximity to you.

Doing a good act apart from God is incomplete. Goodness is inherent in all creation because God is good and magically spoke into existence what is. Completion is found in destiny. Destiny is one of the most underestimated yet powerful forces in the universe. The great call of creation is a destiny. The call is from the Caller calling creation to return to the beauty of origin. A good act is just that apart from the origin of goodness. It will come to an end in itself. A nature of self power is present in us apart from embracing God and choosing to live in the love of God. Centering our source only in ourselves is a blind action of ignorance. It's made without the knowledge of utlimate reality. Destiny requires surrender to forces bigger than self. Because goodness is inherent within us, most people light up when accomplishing something good for others. When we do something beautiful beyond ourselves it testifies to the ultimate greatness of God, in us and beyond us. The signs of that kind of goodness permeate the planet. They become bridges to God, natural connections. We begin to see them as we are ready to acknowledge God. It's worth pursuing a clearer picture of valuing the ever present fingerprint of God in life while acknowledging that filthy rags are not what you wear in the presence of the King. That meaning, good deeds do not earn standing or merit before God. Goodness is not meant to wear on your sleeve like a Purple Heart, Medal of Freedom, or even a Nobel Prize. It more like the life-giving blood that flows through my veins. It just is what it is because its being what its meant to be. True inner goodness can only be rooted in Jesus. The beautiful process of becoming like Jesus in nature and character happens not merely of our effort but by surrender and cooperation with God and the holiness of Jesus in us. And that mystical change makes good deeds forever good.

What I called "nagging"of my children is really my inclination to help them make right choices and see a better way. So you can ask, "What is motivating our pointing out of bad behavior?" We want to see our kids grow in dealing with setbacks. Yesterday I was out riding bikes with my children. Jillian became really frustrated by several things in succession: 1) it's tricky riding a bike on hills (very common in our town); 2) it was very hot (a rare thing in San Francisco); 3) one of her training wheels came loose and made it impossible for her to continue the ride. It all added up to a stressful situation for her, no one else. Conor and David continued to have a great time. I parented her to see her attitude was based on some things she could not control. She needed to adapt. Tough sell today. But worth going at and I will continue with her. One day, by God's grace she will incrementally be granted the natural fruit of Jesus' Spirit in us. She may see clearly enough to pursue and submit to God, even in the midst of stressful moments. My motivation in working with her was to help her move beyond her self inflicted pain. It's the posture of love Kenny talked about. We can nurture it by pointing to Christlike goodness, but it will rest entirely on her to seek, submit, and abide in ultimate goodness. And by then it is naturally flowing from her. And goodness in unleashed!