Why is the world so good?
There are times when people feel everything is going well and their hearts are filled with the joy of living. What are the sort of things they say then? Here are a couple of suggestions, ‘It’s good to be alive!’; ‘What a wonderful world!’.

What is it that makes people speak or feel like this? What is it that makes the world seem so good?

Sometimes it’s because the world seems so beautiful - think of times when you’ve been moved by a beautiful day, or a beautiful scene. Sometimes it’s because there is so much that is enjoyable - think of the things that you enjoy and which make life so much better. Sometimes it’s because you’ve experienced love or kindness, sometimes quite unexpected, and you’ve been very grateful - remember some examples. Sometimes it’s because of the ordinary joys and benefits of family life - think of Christmas or birthdays, for example.

Why is the world like this? Why is the world so good?

The world is so good because it was created by God.

Genesis 1 is the Bible account of the creation of the world: Verse 4 says: "God saw that the light was good." All the way through this chapter we are told that everything was made by God, and at each stage we see that what God made is good: v.10,12, 18,21,25. At the end of the chapter, v.31, we read: "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good."

What God made was good because God is good. The Bible often speaks of God as good, especially in the Psalms, many of which are songs expressing thankfulness for the things that he has done, for example: Psalm 100:5; 106:1; 107:1; 118:1,29: "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures for ever".

Goodness is a very important part of God’s character. Exodus 33:18,19 says: "Then Moses said, ‘Now show me your glory.’ And the LORD said, ‘I will cause my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence.’"

In the next chapter we read: "Then the LORD came down… and stood there with him and proclaimed his name… ‘The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished…’" (v.6,7).

When we look at the world around we see the goodness of God and the glory of God. "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." (Psalm 19:1)

The world is good because God made it, but also because he is constantly at work in it, showing his goodness and giving good gifts. Matthew 5:45: "He causes his sun to shine on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."

This is how some of the early Christians spoke about God’s goodness to people who worshipped images of various gods: "We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy." (Acts 14:15-17)

The natural world tells us certain things about God.

We have seen that it speaks of God’s goodness, but there is more to be seen than that. "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that they are without excuse." (Romans 1:20)

Notice four things here:

  1. God is invisible, so we cannot see what he is like.
  2. However, we can clearly see certain things about God from the world he has made. His works show us truths about him.
  3. The created world shows his eternal power. To make the world he must have mighty power. As he is outside of the world, so he is outside of the time that began with the creation of the world. He is an eternal God with an eternal power.
  4. He is divine; he is really God. He is not like some deities with only very limited powers, like a god of the sea, or of the wind, or of the night. He is God over all. He has a divine nature.
Are there other things we can learn about God from his creation? "How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures." (Psalm 104:24)

Clearly if God made the universe he must be a God of wisdom. He designed the whole cosmos; he planned the miracle of the birth of a baby; he created the beauty of a rose.

What ought our response to be to the world and the goodness of God?

We ought to receive God’s good gifts as gifts and enjoy them: " Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment."

Realising that all good gifts come from God we must also listen to the next verse: "Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share." (1 Timothy 6:17,18)

We ought to be thankful to God: "Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts (Psalm 105:1,2). The trouble is many people take God’s gifts and enjoy what he has given without every giving thanks at all. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him." (Romans 1:21). Unthankfulness is part of what the Bible calls sin.

We ought to turn to God in view of his goodness to us: "Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realising that God’s kindness leads you towards repentance." (Romans 2:4)

We ought to use our minds to learn about God from his world; but this leads to another question:

Why is the world so bad?