Scripture: Romans 12:21 “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
I wish for your life to be filled with God’s love ad blessings. Now I want to share the grace with you through the message titled with “Perfect Goodness.”
Many people think that it is the duty of man and justice to take revenge on those who wrongfully accuse them or unreasonably cause them troubles. But God tells us to love our enemies, and teaches us that to forgive belongs to goodness. Thus, the goodness in the sight of men is totally different from the goodness in the sight of God.
What are you to do in order to take after God who goodness itself and accomplish perfect goodness? Above all, it is important to diligently listen to and learn the word of God and to put it into practice. Now let us look into how to accomplish perfect goodness.
The lowest level of goodness is found when you press down your emotions. At this level of goodness, you have not yet cast away all ill-feelings including hatred and hot-temper but just press down them. So, even if you have not quarreled against the other with evil, you cannot be deemed good in God’s sight. It is better to press down your ill-feelings rather than to quarrel against the other, but something to be pressed down proves that you have evil in your heart.
Here if you continue to diligently cast off sins and evils and pas this level, you will reach the higher level in which you have no ill-feeling at all. Now because you have no more ill-feeling including hatred and discomfort, you come to reach the lowest level of spiritual goodness God recognizes.
The most important thing at this level is that when your emotions are triggered you should control your mind without giving it up and treat and understand the other with goodness. In this way, if you can arrive at the much higher level of goodness, no ill-feeling will be provoked within yourself with no matter what kind of evil the other causes you.
At a little much higher level of goodness, when the other causes evils to you, you will be able to move his heart with good deeds. Then, you don’t calculate on your benefits and do not feel it burdensome to sacrifice and take pains for the other because he is glad and rejoices in doing good.
Thus, if you build up your level of goodness, you will reach the highest level of goodness and accomplish perfect goodness. With this perfect goodness, you can lay down your life for the other who causes evils to you. This level of perfect goodness is the very goodness of God and the Lord. Our Lord Jesus took the cross and bore the crucifixion with joy to redeem us from our sins.
May each of you bear this love of the Lord Jesus in your mind, walk in the word of God, and reach the highest level of goodness by accomplishing perfect goodness so that you may dwell in the love of God and inherit the holy city of New Jerusalem, the most beautiful kingdom of heaven, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ I pray!
