Don’t worry everybody, I know the above question is not correct English and it should be “well” instead of “good”. I haven’t known what to write on here for a little while cause this season of my life has had so much growth and change that it feels like too much to get down, however something that has stuck with me is the question of ‘are you doing good?’. The verse that this is based on is Acts 10:38 “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.” (NIV emphasis mine)
Jesus lived His life for the Father and that produced in Him an entirely different way of life. It was apparent that goodness (that comes from the Holy Spirit) flowed out of Him everywhere He went.
He went around doing good. Jesus went around doing good. Are we doing good in our lives? What is good? Is it occasionally doing something thoughtful for another person to feel good about yourself? I don’t believe so. I think if we look to the ways of Jesus, we see what it truly means to do good. He WAS (and is) goodness. He had the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and one of the fruits that the Bible says is evidence of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is goodness (Galatians 5:22-23). Jesus lived in direct opposition to evil. His whole way of life was opposite of what people were used to and what their definition of good was (because their definition was being a good person in your own eyes and the eyes of others instead of doing good because you live your life for God). Follow religious laws or heal on the sabbath? Don’t go near a leper or heal them? Take time with an adulterous woman and actually talk with her or shun her the same way society did? He always chose the path of doing good. He didn’t live His life for Himself, rather He lived His life for the Father and that produced in Him an entirely different way of life.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what will happen when I get back from the race (I know, I know, it’s like c’mon Addie; focus on one thing at a time. Let’s get TO the race before we start thinking about life after it). I’ve gone on other mission trips and when you come home, you’re left with the question of how will that experience change your day-to-day life? Every time I’ve come back from one of these experiences, there’s a deeper relationship I have with God and I start to look at my day-to-day life differently.
This photo is from content me and my cousin created for a fundraiser with a brand I have coming up. Sometimes I wear this shirt though to remind me to let goodness flow out of me because if my shirt says “Jesus loves you” my actions better say that too.
But am I doing good? Eventually I always fall back into some sort of new routine after that. I often feel like I’m not doing enough because when you’re on a mission trip, every person you encounter there’s time to sit with and minister to. Every day you go out with the express purpose of bringing healing to those oppressed by the devil. At home, schedules and busyness creep in, and the idea that those same opportunities to minister to people aren’t here is something I have to remind myself is false. There are opportunities every day to do good. When you have a relationship with the Holy Spirit you don’t have to try to do good, it just becomes part of who you are (like it is part of who Jesus is) because it stems from your relationship with Him. It might look different in each situation (could be asking your cashier about their day and genuinely caring about their answer, or paying for the meals of the single mom you saw walk in with her kids, or loving your friends and being someone they can trust) but each day we have the opportunity to live our lives in a way that is directly opposite of evil, and make it apparent that goodness lives in us.
Taken on a kiosk in Columbus (didn’t know they had those lol) when we were doing homeless outreach with the Dream Center. Homeless ministry is a great example of opportunity to do good being all around us because there are needs all around us. My teammates were Jose and Joe and they’re amazing!!
I don’t want the race to be a one-year one off. I want it to be a transformative time that draws me closer to God and allows me to see things His way. I want His responses to situations, I want His heart for people, I want goodness to flow out of me the same way it does out of Jesus. But I don’t have to wait for the race to do that. We all have the opportunity every day to follow in the ways of Jesus and that includes doing good. Is it apparent that your life is different from the world? Do you follow the ways of Jesus and let the Holy Spirit’s goodness flow out of you? Are you doing good?
I love how you look at the motivation behind doing good – from the outflow of being led by the Holy Spirit or does it stem from self-serving reason. I also like how you point out the importance of that being incorporated into our daily lives instead of saving it up for a mission trip.