Goodness
Who Is Good?
by Sophia Prinsloo
Text Version | Afrikaans | Italian
Theofilus was tired after the long day on the dusty roads of Jerusalem. He had helped his mother, Joanna, to take bread, fish and dried fruit to Jesus and his disciples to eat. He still couldn't completely believe that his mother had changed so much after that first encounter with Jesus months ago.
Before she came to Jesus, she had often ranted and raved, running like a mad woman through the house, hurting herself. When that happened, Theofilus would lock himself in his room and hide under the bed, covering his ears. There he would wait and pray to God for help, until his dad or some of the servants managed to lock his mom in a room. They did it to prevent her from doing something foolish, like hurting him or somebody else.
His dad, Chuza, was a very important man and a manager for King Herod. He loved Joanna dearly, but he did not know what to do to help his wife. Yet everything changed on that day when she met Jesus. Jesus delivered her by driving out seven demons from her. Praise the Lord! From that day onward, she was calm and always loving, with joy radiating from her eyes. Theofilus was not afraid of her anymore. He was so glad and grateful for Jesus.
After that, he and Joanna often went to listen to Jesus during the day and, in the evenings, they told his dad everything that had happened. Sometimes they packed the donkeys with food supplies and followed Jesus to other towns. Then they shared their food with Him and his disciples.
They loved to be around Jesus. They saw the miracles He did, healing all the sick and lame who came to Him. The blind saw again, the deaf heard again, lepers were cleansed and even the dead were raised again and people's broken hearts were healed. It must have been God working in and through Him, because no man could do those things if the living God was not with him. God is a good God and Jesus is good.
Jesus also taught about Himself. He said He was the Good Shepherd, who gives his life for his sheep. Theofilus did not yet know exactly how Jesus would do that for him, but he knew that a good shepherd would always care for his sheep and protect them against danger, even if it would cost him his own life. A good shepherd would also go and look for a lost sheep until he found it, and then he would invite all his friends and joyfully celebrate because of that one lost sheep that was found. Theofilus knew that his mother was a lost sheep who was found again.
Although Jesus did good things, not everybody liked Him. Many of the Pharisees and scribes were angry with Jesus, because He healed people on the Sabbath. According to them, it was a sin to work on the Sabbath, but Jesus said it was right to do something good for others on a Sabbath day. He said, if we want others to do good to us, we must do good to them first. That was why Theofilus and his mother did good to Jesus, because He had done good to them first.
One day, Theofilus heard a loud rumpus. A woman was caught in the act of making a huge mistake. The Pharisees and scribes wanted to stone her by force. On top of that, they wanted Jesus to tell them that it was good and right to do that. Scared of the angry mob of men, Theofilus grabbed his mom's hand, pricking up his ears to hear what Jesus would say.
Jesus bent down on one knee and quietly began to write on the ground. The Pharisees and scribes stretched their necks, hoping to see what He was writing. When He was finished, all Jesus said was, “Let the one who is without sin hurl the first stone at her.”
One by one, they left, feeling guilty in their conscience about their own sin. Nobody was left except Jesus and the sinner woman. Jesus had a clean conscience, but He did not judge the woman. Instead, he told her not to sin anymore and sent her away free. Jesus said that even though somebody may sin many times a day against us, we must still forgive him or her every time. Theofilus decided there and then to forgive one of his friends, who had broken the wheel off his wooden wagon.
Theofilus and Joanna also heard how Jesus taught his disciples to pray. They were to pray to God as their Heavenly Father Who does good to his children and won't give them bad things when they ask for good things. Theofilus was very glad about that, because he knew that God had also answered his prayer to deliver his mom. Jesus said not to ever stop praying, even if it takes a long time for the prayer to be answered.
Jesus showed us his goodness by teaching us that certain things were not to happen in God's temple. Theofilus had never seen Jesus as angry as the day when He took a whip and drove out all the money changers and sellers of doves and sheep and oxen, who were doing business in the temple. Jesus said that God's temple was to be a place of worship and not a place where people were robbed.
After another day with Jesus, Theofilus became worried and wondered if he would ever be able to become as good as Jesus. Then he remembered what Jesus had said. He said that if we stay in Him, listen to his words and do them, we will also be able to do the good things He does. We will be like a branch of the True Vine, loaded with lots of good fruit.
That night, Theofilus said to his dad, “Dad, you know, I truly love Jesus very much and I want to do good things just like Him. I have hidden Jesus' words deep in my heart and I am going to be obedient to Him in all things. Surely He will help me do his will by the power He gives me through the Holy Spirit!”
REMEMBER:
To be truly good, we have to know Jesus by reading his Word and then doing what it says. We must ask the Holy Spirit to help us do it.
THINK
1. Can you think about a few good things that Jesus did?
2. Was everybody glad about the good things Jesus did? Why not?
3. How can we know what true goodness is?
4. Theofilus did not yet exactly know how Jesus would lay down his life for him. Can you tell him how Jesus did that?
5. What do you think Jesus wrote on the ground?
A VERSE TO LEARN
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness,
faith, meekness, temperance:
against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
ALTERNATE VERSES TO LEARN
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may
see your good works, and glorify your Father which
is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due
season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have
therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men,
especially unto them who are of the household of
faith” (Galatians 6:9-10).
“Or do you despise the riches of His goodness,
forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that
the goodness of God leads you to repentance?”
(Romans 2:4 NKJV).
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
Can you think of a few good things you can do for your parents, your siblings, your grandparents and friends? What can you do for a homeless person or someone who is hungry, a sick person or someone who can’t see or hear or walk? Is there someone you know who is sad or grieving? What good things can you do for them?
[After discussion:] God is good and He wants his children to be good as well, not just as an outward show but from the heart. If you love Him, you will love to do good as well. God helped Jesus to be good (John 10:32) and He will help you learn to be good if you ask Him and are willing to obey Him. How do you learn to be good? You learn it from reading the Bible and prayerfully applying it to your life while you trust Him to do good works through you.
LET'S PRAY
****************************************************
Heavenly Father, forgive us where we have
done wrong to others. Help us to know what
real goodness is and to do good to others.
Give us the power of your Holy Spirit
to do what Jesus would have done,
even when others do not like it.
In Jesus' Name. Amen.
****************************************************
CAN YOU FIND THIS STORY IN THE BIBLE?
Matthew 7:7, 18:21-22; Luke 6:6-11,31, 8:3, 15:3-7;
John 2:13-17, 8:1-11, 10:11; 15:1-5
Galatians 5:19-26
STORIES IN THIS SERIES:
The Fruit of the Spirit
Love
Joy
Peace
Longsuffering/Patience
Gentleness/Kindness
Goodness
Faith
Meekness/Humility
Temperance/Self-Control
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