ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
June 8, 2022
Sharing a Blog Post from Rev. Mariah Newell
I had a kid in VBS say to me today, “Am I good?”
I responded with “Of course you are good and it’s not just me that thinks you’re good, remember the story yesterday? God called all people, including you, VERY good!”
She looked down at her feet and said, “but I’m bad sometimes…”
I said, “Maybe there are times we make choices that aren’t good, but that doesn’t make YOU bad. YOU are GOOD. Nothing you can do will ever make God stop loving you. Do you believe that?”
“Yeah…”
“Are you sure…do you really believe that you are good?”
“No, not really…not all the time.”
This wasn’t where the conversation ended. It ended in a much more positive place, but I pause there because I appreciate the honesty. Because I know when I’m honest with myself, her answer resonates with me. I know that on days where I feel I made every mistake or hurt folks I love, my honest answer to if I really believe I’m good would be like hers… “No, not really…not all the time.”
I wonder sometimes why it’s hard to accept that God sees all of creation (including humanity) as good first…not good that must be earned. That when we hear that nothing can separate us from the love of God, that truly and actually nothing can separate us from the love of God. That our goodness is always the first thing God sees, not that mistake, hurt, or ‘badness’ we’re clinging to or that others might be trying to put on us.
God’s not holding that. We are.
God’s holding our goodness first and always.
I wonder if we can do that too. Hold our goodness first and tightly, for ourselves and those around us. I wonder how that could change us.
