The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

Jesus Sees Beyond Our Words

One day a wealthy young man ran up to Jesus, called Him “Good teacher,” and proceeded to ask Jesus what was needed for the young man to inherit eternal life. If one of us was asked that question today, we might quote John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Simple, right? A straightforward question answered.

But Jesus replied in a way that seems to have nothing to do with the question. “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” (Mark 10:18, ESV)

Why didn’t Jesus just answer the question that was asked? Was there more to the question than we see? Not only do words matter, but concepts matter. Truth matters. And Jesus sees beyond our words.

If Jesus Is Good Then He Is God

It appears Jesus wanted the young man to hear himself. Did he know what he was saying? Before the question came the address, “Good teacher.” Did the young man grasp the full meaning of those words?

In John 14:6, Jesus tells His followers He is the way, the truth, the life. Jesus is truth and speaks truth. He wants us to understand truth and live it. He had no interest in giving the young man a pat answer to his question. He wanted the man to grasp the reality of Who was standing in front of him. He wanted the young man to realize that in calling Jesus, “Good,” either the young man was wrong…or Jesus is God.

Ugly Is Not Always Bad

For some reason the phrase, “The good, the bad, and the ugly,” has played around in my mind the last couple of weeks. I think it was all the pollen on the trail at the park that prompted such a thought.

In the beautiful Georgia spring, we have pollen. Tons of pollen. It starts out as a fine yellow dust that covers the cars and porches and plants, even people if they sit outside long enough. And it’s ugly.

As the yellow powder begins to dissipate, trees add to the ugliness by shedding what I call pollen holders. They look like caterpillars covering the ground!

Pollen’s ugly, but it isn’t bad. Without pollen, plants wouldn’t reproduce. When flowers burst out in color, I’m reminded pollen is a good thing. When bees buzz around our plants, I remember there is a purpose and reason for the pollen we see.

There Is None Good Except God Alone

The word, “good,” brings to mind Jesus’ statement to the young man in the earlier story. “There is none good except God alone.”

If God is good, and He is, then what is bad? Pollen is ugly, but not bad. Many things seem ugly to us, but aren’t bad. If God is good, logically it seems that whatever is against God is bad. And thus we have our work cut out for us. Discerning what is good, what is bad, and whether or not something ugly is good or bad.

What is it in life that pushes us to God, and what is there in life that draws us away from Him? That which pushes us to God must be good. That which pulls us away from God must be bad. But what about “the ugly?” Pollen is an example of what looks ugly but actually produces something that glorifies our Maker. So what about other “uglies” in this life?

Chaos, strife, pain, trouble, loss. They all appear severely ugly to those of us on this side of heaven. Thankfully God is able to use these “ugly” things to help us see that He alone is good. When we are in distress, we hurt dreadfully, but we learn then better than at any other time that our hope is found in Christ alone. That ugly situation in our life points us, draws us, to the One, the only One, who is good. He alone can give us the comfort, peace, and joy we so desperately need.

Choose Good, Hate Bad, And Trust God With The Ugly

God, our Creator, is good. That which draws us to Him does so for our good. Anything that pulls us away from God does so at our peril and is bad. And that which we perceive with our eyes or our heart as unpleasant, difficult, or worse? That is just ugly. But maybe that ugly is the very thing God will use to show us more of Himself. And more of God is always good.

As you journey today, may you love the good and hate the bad. And if you are in the middle of something ugly, may God, our loving Father, give you great grace. In the midst of the ugly, may He draw you closer to Jesus our Lord who is God Himself. Trust God with the ugly. If you’ll let Him, He will turn that ugly into something very good.

“The LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted..to comfort all who mourn…to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”

Isaiah 61:1-3

(Scripture: NKJV, except otherwise noted; Photos: Taken by Carolyn Thigpen, Grayson, GA, and Lawrenceville, GA, 2021)