Genesis 1:31
God Made All Things Good
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
Mark 10:18
Only God is Good
18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.
Romans 8:18-30
God Works Towards Good
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Luke 21:5-38
Signs of the End of Times
5 Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, 6 “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.”
7 “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”
8 He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. 9 When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”
10 Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.
12 “But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. 13 And so you will bear testimony to me. 14 But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. 15 For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17 Everyone will hate you because of me. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 Stand firm, and you will win life.
20 “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. 22 For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. 23 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
29 He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30 When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
32 “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap.35 For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”
37 Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives, 38 and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple.
Acts 4:12
Salvation is Found Only in Jesus
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.
As we watch the news and our headlines each day, we can see that in this world their is goodness and hope, but there is also evil...There are those who want to hurt people, for maybe not sharing their own personal values or for whatever reasons...It does seem like the world goes through some periods of good times and then something happens...And our optimism fades and evil seems to abound around us...Our outlook then on the world changes, as we read about an attack on innocent people or something that happens to shake our faith...It seems evil comes out in the world more regularly than we would like...
The world did not always have evil in it...In the beginning, God created the world and He saw that it was good...So the world was good, because He is Good...But after the Fall of Man, sin entered the world and it has not been the same since...The evil one has remained around all these years tempting us regularly and created evil, and we have been unable to overcome him and his ways...The evil ones ways still remain in our world, as he continues to tempt us...The evil one even tried to tempt Jesus, but He was not tempted by this prince of darkness...And I am not sure that the evilness in our world will ever change until Jesus returns for His Second Advent...
So while some can take a worldview that the world is both a world of cynicism and hope, those who believe in Jesus and follow Him, have an extra hope that surrounds Him...That extra hope is that we know He will return...And when He returns we will bring judgment on the world, and fix what is wrong...He will render evil useless and rid our world of it...The hope and optimism will abound and He will rid the world and us of our cynicism...
St. Paul writes to us about this great future hope and tells us that we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose...God is over everything...God wants all things to work together for the good of the world...Because He is Goodness...For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the Image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters...God knows us individually and collectively...Believers are promised to be in the group that will go to heaven...And our salvation comes from His Son...God wants His followers to persevere...God LOVES us, and He wants us to trust Him...When we do this, we do persevere...Let us have hope and hold onto His hope of Goodness...For in this hope we were saved in His Son...But hope that is seen is no hope at all...Who hopes for what they already have?...But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently...Let us be patient and more grounded in His Goodness and hope...And realize that our salvation is found in Jesus...Jesus is our Hope...He is our Hope Eternal...