So what makes goodness different from kindness? Aren’t they the same thing? I used to feel the same way. The short answer is, they are similar but not the same. In Galatians, the Greek word for kindness is chrestotes, like we learned last week, but goodness is derived from the word, agathosune. Where kindness means serviceable or helpful in a tender, concerned way, goodness means “virtue equipped at any point,” or a more righteous integrity.

Over the last month, we’ve been picking apart Psalm 23, one of the most recognizable passages of scripture there is. David, the author of the psalm was a king, a shepherd, a son, but most importantly, a man that was passionately invested in a relationship with God. If anyone understood the deep nuances of every line of this psalm, it was David himself. If there was anyone qualified to compare God to a shepherd, it was David.In six, short verses, we were taken through the green pastures and still waters of a life laid in submission to the Lord; a life that allows God to lead and take care of our needs. From there, we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, an ominous valley surrounded by the trials of life on all sides. Then, we sit down at a table prepared by the Lord, but a table set in a room full of our enemies, an oasis of comfort and rest in the middle of a not-so-wonderful situation.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. It’s such a short sentence, but it is a powerful picture of the Christian walk. I’m sure you’ve been there, because we all have. We all have enemies. And sometimes, our enemy isn’t a person. Sometimes our enemy is something completely unseen that tucks itself up to the table and stares us down, waiting for us to blink. Depression. Anxiety. Fear. Unemployment. Infertility. Disappointment. Lost dreams. Low self esteem and body issues. Grief. Intimidation. Disease. The list can go on and on.

CANCELLED. That’s never a word you want to see next to your flight number at the airport. This past weekend, my husband and I flew up to New York to watch our friends get engaged. We flew in Friday night, hung out this weekend, and the plan was to fly back home Sunday night to be back in time for work on Monday morning. But clearly, we were in store for other plans.

Most of the time, just by first glance we think that we have someone all figured out. In our own minds, we convince ourselves that we are intelligent enough to see right through a person even when we know so little about them. When we do that, we often miss out on a great opportunity to challenge ourselves or experience a great friendship. I think we can all pinpoint one person in our lives that we thought we had all figured at first, but once we got to know them, they were completely different than we thought. This is what the people of Jesus’ day and age did from the day he was born to the day they thought they silenced Him for good. Unfortunately, due to the pride, judgement, and pettiness of people, they never got to develop a relationship with Jesus that would have satisfied and changed them forever.