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Goodness

Much like our innate desire for the truth, we all have an equally deep need for goodness. We seek this just as much as we do the truth. Goodness corresponds to flourishing as truth does to the real. Everyone wants to do more than merely exist but thrive. It is a powerful impulse within all of us to not only personally flourish but for our society to flourish as well.

We see our quest for goodness manifest in our car for the sick and left behind. Soup kitchens, homeless shelters, hospitals, and all other sorts of charities are a result of our search for goodness and flourishing. We seek fairness under the law, equal opportunities, and chances to improve our situations in life.

As with truth, the various ways we find goodness in this world correspond to some ultimate Goodness: God. God is Goodness itself. He is life eternal. To know what flourishing truly is is to look at the inner life of the Trinity. We seek to participate in that Goodness.

As Christians we are called to be Goodness people. We are to be a flourishing, generous people. We should be people who are growing closer to God and sharing of ourselves with others. Goodness means taking care of one another and the community at large. It means concern for neighbor and loving them more than yourself.

Like with truth, sin can corrupt our search for goodness. It causes us to seek things that actually dampen our flourishing. Things that only benefit the individual at the expense of the community become the norm. Goodness bereft of truth cannot identify what really works for our flourishing. Truth without goodness does not seek to move or bring people to know God.

What does it mean for us in our churches to be Goodness people? It means being a people of service and evangelism. It means being a tight knit community that supports one another. It means regularly confessing our sins to one another. It means putting the needs of others ahead of ourselves.

Truth and Goodness are two things that, to varying degrees, we have actively pursued. Some churches definitely lean one way or the other, but we understand their importance. However, there is one more transcendental that we have not done such a good job with, beauty. Truth deals with the real. Goodness deals with flourishing. However, real flourishing needs an ideal or goal to strive towards. That is the beautiful.

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