For today's Forward Day by Day readings click here.
Goodness. Goodness gracious, it's Goodness. That's our complete set tool de jour. Goodness.
But what in the world does it mean to be good? And what would a Good tool look like? Part of me think it looks like a Halo. A shiny, gold halo that we fasten onto our thick skulls when it's time get off our duffs, defy negative thoughts about why we shouldn't, and just... go for it. Perhaps it's what we pull out when we know it's time to do "the right thing."
Today's reading from John 5, which describes Jesus healing the lame man at the gate, reminds me of another story about Jesus healing an unwalking person. In another chapter, we hear about what it means to be a "good" friend. Jesus is preaching and outside, actually up on the roof above Jesus' head, are these friends. These are some good, good friends — the kind we all want to have in our lives. They want so much for their lame (as in, can't walk, not dufus) buddy to be seen and healed by Jesus that they rig him up in a mat and lower him through the roof and into Jesus' presence. Jesus isn't half as shocked by this circus-like entry as he is compelled by the "goodness" of these friends. He heals the man and forgives his sins.
All of our tools come with some fancy added bonus features. Goodness shines. But it also comes with like half a million other names for itself. As a writer, I've always been taught that good is just a mediocre word. There are so many more descriptive words that can be used to identify something that is good: High quality, skillful, enjoyable, nice, beautiful...the list could go on for many, many paragraphs.
When you pull out your Goodness halo tool today, how will its actions best be described?
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