The Story of Good – Learning to Steward the Good Within.
Back in the day (2002 to be exact), I wrote a little book called The Perfected Self: A Study in Self from the Gospel of Luke. In it, I made the proposal that Jesus wasn’t nearly as interested in me managing my sin as He was in bringing His goodness to set me free from my self-consumption!
Well, like most self-published books, mine sold a few copies here and there, with several boxes of these little gems finding their home taking up floor space in my garage! Yet despite the slow sales, all these years later, (19 to be exact) I still can’t shake this theme of discipleship that focuses on issues of Self versus issues of Sin.
So, here we go, gang.
Allow me to take another swing at this fastball, trying my best to bring a few thoughts forward on the amazing goodness of God. It’s my prayer that the words I share will stir something very good inside. Something God has just for you as a special refreshment along the way. As you read, might I encourage you to stop regularly, quiet yourself a bit, giving some extra time to savor the story and ponder on the questions you’ll find at the end of each chapter.
Know that my ultimate goal in all this is to help you:
1) better embrace the great love God has for you,
2) better receive the amazing blessings of Good Jesus has waiting for you, and
3) better understand the role you have in becoming a distributor of God’s Good in a world that looks to need more of it…more than ever before.
Over a period of about eight weeks (3 sessions per week), we will take you on a poetic journey (26-sessions) we call The Story of Good. Take note that each blog session begins with a short scripture reading. My suggestion is that you don’t hurry through, or skip the text, but treat it as a Lectio Divina reading where you slow down and sit a bit with God’s Word, allowing it to penetrate and influence you as you read.
We suggest you bookmark this homepage to keep all 26 blogs in this series for future reference.
The Story of Good: An Introduction.
Chapter One: An Invitation to Good.
Chapter Two: In the Beginning. Good.
Chapter Three: The Masterpiece.
Chapter Five: Faith. Hope. Love.
Chapter Six: Wind. Water. Fire. Earth.
Chapter Seven: Behind the Curtain.
Chapter Eight: Keeping Good Pure.
Chapter Nine: Hoarding Good for Oneself.
Chapter Ten: The Good Gift of Life.
Chapter Eleven: Soaking in the Good.
Chapter Twelve: Bread in the Desert.
Chapter Thirteen: My Eyes Fixed on Jesus.
Chapter Fourteen: Willing to Listen and Learn?
Chapter Fifteen: The Gift of God-Dependency.
Chapter Sixteen: The Gift of Self-Existence.
Chapter Seventeen: Good Turned Sour.
Chapter Eighteen: Life Everlasting.
Chapter Nineteen: The Temptation of Self-Preservation.
Chapter Twenty: The Temptation of Self-Promotion.
Chapter Twenty-One: The Temptation of Self-Perpetuation.
Chapter Twenty-Two: My Response to God’s Good.
Chapter Twenty-Three: The Father’s Good Blessing.
The Story of Good: An Epilogue.
My Dedication. Here’s to Pastor Eugene Peterson. Pastor to pastors. Without you and your writings, I’m not sure if I could have made it to my 30th anniversary as a pastor. Without you and your writings, I might have never found a modern translation of God’s Word that spoke to both my heart and my mind. Without you and your writings, I might have never believed that a pastor needs to be a poet. Without you and your writings, I might have never been encouraged that a pastor needs to be unbusy, subversive, and apocalyptic. And without you, Eugene, I might have been easily distracted from my long obedience in the same direction.
Godspeed, Eugene Peterson, Godspeed.
Here’s a complete list of Scriptures used in our Story of Good blog series.
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