Making the Good People Nice

I read this during my devotional this morning, and I thought I'd share it with ya'll! It reminded me of the Patch the Pirate song "The Joy of Jesus":

1 Peter 1:3-8

 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,



To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,


 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.


 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:


 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:


 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

Riding a bus one day, I overheard this statement: "Christians may not have made the world any better, but they surely have made it duller."

We could shrug this criticism as sheer cynicism. Maybe, however, we can profit by questioning what occasions such a comment.

Then there's the prayer of a five year old, "O God, please make the bad people good and the good people nice."

Something is behind the insightful recognition by a child that "good" and "nice" should go together.

What is "nice" to a five year old? Generally, it's joy and happiness, the good-to-be-with feeling one gives the child. "My teacher's nice" is generally accompanied by shining eyes and a warm smile. "Nice" is a good thing, a pleasant thing to be.

Why is good not always pleasant?

David the psalmist knew the two go together. He wrote, "How good and pleasant..." (Psalm 133:1). Both good and pleasant! Not like medicine, which, it is said, the more effective it is, the more unpleasant to the taste. I recall an evil tasting concoction my mother used to dispense (on principle, I think, rather than prescription). The name of it was Henry's Solution, and as a youngster, one of my goals was to get even with this "Henry"--maybe make him drink a quart of his own medicine.

Have you thought that this is how some people regard us and our Christianity? They question, "Does it have to be so unpalatable?"

It may be that they have been disillusioned, that sensing or knowing that Christ promises joy and happiness, they have nevertheless had as models Christians who project an image of gloom. Such persons can't know for themselves all the benefits of being a Christian until they have first tasted and found that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8). Meanwhile they need good samples, and we who need to demonstrate that our faith in Christ is working for us; our inner Christian joy must show on the outside.

Christian joy doesn't come in a spray can. We can't turn it on and off like an aerosol. It's the deep spring of living water that Jesus promised wold bubble up in the hearts of those who believe, and it is both good and pleasant. It need never be grim!

As taken from Morning Glories