Sometimes the truth is good news even when it hurts. How can the fact that we are not good be considered good news? Because it makes room for the reality that only God is truly good and we are not. If we believe that He is good and desire the good things He has for us, we can personally know and experience His perfect goodness in our lives.

In Luke 18:29-30, Jesus says that everyone who gives up the things they believe are good—including family, friends, possessions, and other really good things—for Him will be given the best and only ultimately good thing: a life and eternal relationship with God. That is good!

Jesus is inviting us to give up good things for the best thing—Him. And if we invite God, the only true good, into our lives, we will have the opportunity to know what true goodness is like. This is a goodness that has nothing to do with material things, empty charity, or forced works. Being close to God puts you in proximity to true, authentic goodness—a goodness that looks past your faults and sees you as someone worth loving, saving, and knowing. And what a good thing that is.