Do Good

Do Good
July 28, 2024
3 John 1:11, Acts 10:38, Luke 4:18-19

Friend, don’t go along with evil. Model the good. The person who does good does God’s work. The person who does evil falsifies God, doesn’t know the first thing about God.

3 John 1:11 (The Message)

You know about Jesus of Nazareth, whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit and endowed with power. Jesus traveled around doing good and healing everyone oppressed by the devil because God was with him.

Acts 10:38 (CEB)

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“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”

While the attribution of this well known quote to John Wesley is heavily questioned by scholars, it remains true to the Wesleyan Spirit and the second of our General Rules, “to do good.”   As our conference youth put it, we are called to “do good however, whatever, wherever, whenever, forever.”

Like our rule last week, “Do no harm,” the rule to “Do Good” seems fairly simple and straight forward, but there are a lot of  open ended questions.  How much good must we do?  How often?   To whom?  How much do we have to sacrifice for the sake of doing good to others? 

I once saw someone pose the question, “What is the least I have to do and still be a Christian?”  While we may not ask it quite so crudely, if we’re honest we often ask a lot of similar questions.  We try to be good people, but in the back of our minds we may question if we have been good enough or if we have done enough?  The truth is there is always more to be done and compassion fatigue is very real.  Our resources are limited, not only financially, but also physically and emotionally.  We don’t always have enough information or enough bandwidth to do all the good we would like to do and it is easy to feel overwhelmed and give up altogether. 

I think that’s all the more reason to reflect again on the quote so often attributed to Wesley.  Consider using it as a prayer of examen at the end of each night.

1.  Today, did I do all the good I could do?

2.  Did I use every means possible to do good?

3.  Did I do good in every way I thought of?

4.  Did I do good in every place I went?

5.  Did I do good to every person I encountered?

6.  Did I keep doing good to the end of the day without giving up?

If we’re honest with ourselves, the answers will often be “no.”  We all fall short and these questions should never make us judge or shame ourselves.  They should, however, invite us to ask in every moment, what is the most good I can do, right here, right now, in this situation… and trust that God will use it and multiply it and that it will be enough.  They also give us an opportunity to celebrate and give thanks for the good God empowered us to do.

In what specific ways is God calling you to do good this week?

God Squeezes Good from Bad

God Squeezes Good from Bad

Where is God when… ? - Part 3

Sunday, November 19, 2023
Romans 8:1-39; Genesis 50:20

We know that God works all things together for good for the ones who love God, for those who are called  according to his purpose. 

Romans 8:28 (CEB) 

Listen to this Week’s Sermon here:

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Last week we explored the nature of God’s uncoercive and uncontrolling love.  Because love cannot coerce or force itself on another, it is impossible for God to singlehandedly prevent evil, particularly when that evil results from the choices of free-willed human beings.  Yet we can also say that love always works for the good, for the flourishing of humanity and of all creation. 

We can think of countless examples of people who have suffered tremendous evils in their lives and came out must stronger on the other side.  Victims of abuse may stand in the gap to protect others or care for others who have gone through similar trauma.  Someone whose child was killed by a drunk driver may become an advocate to prevent similar tragedies in the future.  Even if a person who has suffered doesn’t end up doing something so great and public, there are many who look back on their pain and trauma as an experience that shaped their character, that made them stronger, and potentially enabled them to do things with their lives they never dreamed possible.  Perhaps this is your story too.

This is where God’s best work comes in to play.  God is always creating and re-creating, renewing, restoring, healing, and making whole what is broken.  It does not mean, as so many have claimed, that the tragedy or suffering was a part of God’s plan in order to bring about this better outcome.  If suffering and evil is part of God’s will or God’s plan then to work against it would be to fight against God.

A loving God never causes pain or suffering.  But God’s love always works to squeeze every possible good out of even the worst situation.  Not every evil can be redeemed, even by God, but as Frederick Buechner says, resurrection reminds us the worst thing is never the last.  God is always weaving the bad into good.

Shepherd

GOD – Part 3

GOD as Good Shepherd
Sunday, January 20, 2019
John 10:1-16, Ezekiel 34:11-16

[The shepherd] calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Whenever he has gathered all of his sheep, he goes before them and they follow him, because they know his voice.

John 10:3b-4

Every one of us has most likely experienced a time or even a season in life where we felt hopelessly and utterly lost. I don’t mean that our GPS stopped working and we took a wrong turn. Rather, we have probably had that moment, likely more than once, when we paused just long enough to look at our life and wonder, “How did I get here?” or “Where am I going?” We might have even asked ourselves, “Where is here?” or “Where am I?”

These are existential questions about the meaning and purpose of life, about our journey and the path it has taken us on. Robert Frost wrote that we should consider taking the road less traveled rather than following the crowd, but there are times when we stop and say, “I took the road less traveled and now I don’t know where I am!”

If we’re not careful we find ourselves walking with Jesus and one day we look out from the mountaintop like Peter and John and say, “This is a nice place, let’s just pitch our tent and stay here.” Then Jesus wants to go back down to the valley and we think he’s crazy. Why would we want to go back down there.

It’s safe up here on the mountain. I have a comfortable pew. The light shines so beautifully through the stained glass. All my friends are here. And oh, by the way, did I mention it was safe?

The problem is that Jesus didn’t call us to “stay with him”. He said, “Come, follow me.” As our shepherd, he leads us beside still waters but he also leads us through the valley of the shadow of death. He cares for us in the safety of the sheep-pen but he also leads us out to pastures where we might just run into a few wolves.

Nobody ever said following the shepherd would be easy or safe. As C.S. Lewis puts it, “Of course he isn’t safe, but he’s good.”

In what ways are you feeling a bit lost or disoriented in your life right now?

• Where do you sense the shepherd leading you this week?

• What practical steps would you need to take in order to follow?

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. (Psalm 23:1)

Click here to listen to entire sermon series - “GOD”