[Jesus said,] ’Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.‘ — Matthew 19:17
When someone asks, “How are you?†it has become common for the response to be, “I’m good.†When we say this, we are really saying, “I’m well†or “I’m doing fine,†speaking of our general well-being and not our character. I have answered with that response more times than I can count, but lately it has begun to bother me. Because, whether we realize it or not, we are saying something specific when we use the word good.
Jesus once encountered a wealthy young man who called Him “Good Teacher†(Matt. 19:16). The young man was right, for Jesus is both good (completely perfect) and the Teacher. He is the only One who can truly make that claim.
The Lord, however, challenged the man to think about what he was saying in using that term good. “So He said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments’†(v.17). Jesus wanted the man to understand that the assertion he was making needed to be taken seriously. Jesus can be called “good†because He is God.
Next time someone asks you, “How are you?†it is great to be able to say, “I’m well.†But remember, only Jesus is good.— Bill Crowder
Eternal with the Father, One,
Is Jesus Christ, His own dear Son;
In Him God’s fullness we can see,
For Jesus Christ is deity. —D. De Haan
READ: Matthew 19:16-26
God is great and God is good,
but without Him we are neither.