One of the greatest things about living and working overseas is meeting fascinating people from all over the world..  Our organization in Mongolia, JCS, has missionaries from 19 countries.  A couple of years ago I met an Australian guy named Dave Andrews.  He is a fine Christian man with a wonderful sense of humor who thinks Great Thoughts.  He writes books. The really impressive thing about Dave is that he does things in addition to thinking and writing.  He is passionately active doing things about injustice.  Like God, Dave hates sin and injustice.  For him, the great commission is all about correcting false notions of God.

God is Good.  But most people are looking for evidence on this point.  How might they find it?

Christ Jesus “. . . gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.” (Titus 2:14).  The evidence of God's goodness is in the self sacrificial nature of His children, their service to others in the name of God, their compassion in the power of the Holy Spirit.  An act of love motivated not from the resources of human nature, but from the heart of God is impressive.  This is the kind of thing that resonates with fallen human beings.  Inwardly they may be asking, “Who cares about my issues here and now? Who helps me? Who is self sacrificial? Who tells the truth? Who knows my name and all about me, and yet still cares?”

Jesus' people are zealous for good deeds.  This is how the general public can tell that God is good.

We NewLifers are busy with good deeds.  It is, however, ridiculously easy to be distracted.  All it takes sometimes is to NOT FEEL APPRECIATED.  All it takes is an offensive comment.  All it takes is a presumptuous demand, and we Christians can be at each other's throats.

The other day I was feeling very annoyed with someone.  I wanted to disobey God and do something unkind.  Wasn't there some special allowance to retaliate, especially if you are in a bad mood?  If a fellow “missionary” does something really irritating and unChristian, wouldn't it be OK for me to just smack 'em?  Do I have to walk in the Spirit, and “be at peace with all men” in this case?  Can't I behave according to human nature if somebody is really, REALLY annoying?  I was looking in the Scriptures for some kind of disclaimer.

I couldn't find one.

Instead I found that I'm not supposed to grow weary in doing good.  I decided to ignore the enemy's ranting and get back to work demonstrating that God is good.

It is my prayer that many souls would find ample evidence of God's goodness in the concern and action of NewLifers – in Chicago or Mongolia or wherever.  May we all get busy, as Dave Andrews would say, “restoring the reputation of God in the eyes of the confused.”  God is good.