Making Something Good

We know it is possible to make something bad out of something good.  Just burn a tray of cookies in the oven and you will see.  But is it possible to make something good out of something bad?

For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, provided it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by God's word and by prayer. - 1 Timothy 4:4-5

In today's reading we are instructed to look at all things God created as good.

I agree that all may start out good, but what happens when something goes bad?  Can it be restored to goodness?

In some cases, it may be a lot harder to do that than in others.  I can think of one where it may be impossible, and that is in keeping food safe.

Once the milk has turned or the fruit has become rotten, it cannot be brought back.

But that doesn't mean there isn't something good still left in them.  From composts to baking, there are ways to recapture some of the goodness in these items.  A good cook can find salvageable components in just about anything.

So, perhaps the same is true of us.  Perhaps we still have good in us that can be brought out, even after we turn bad.

What is needed, I guess, is a good cook to create a recipe from our good parts.

That, I believe is the message of the Gospel, that we are all saved by the grace of God, and from each of us wonderful things can grow.  And the good news in all of this is that we can help each other turn the good into amazing, leaving the bad behind.

Not a bad way to look at the world, is it?

If I can focus on the good I see in people, imagine what good can come of that.

But if I only see the bad, then I will have a hard time seeing how anything good can come from it.

So, today I will be on the lookout for good.  Care to join me?

More to come...