Goodwill towards men
April 1 2022
Every time I take the kids to my house, when we are leaving, they do the little gesture of goodwill, and they point to their eye, then make a heart with their hands, and then point to the other person. Eye Heart You!
This “goodwill” is that they show, translates easily and genuinely, to their parents and others, without reservation. Goodwill like this is so important, for our parents, our children, our spouse, our siblings, and our neighbors. It is so easy to forget to be kind, grateful, and instead focus on what WE want, instead of what we are able to GIVE. Goodwill is a wonderful thing to give others.
Philippians 1:15 says that “some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife, and some also of goodwill”. This line in the bible was written by someone in chains, but that person believed that even so, he was able to see goodwill, and express it. I think that we can do that also.
I was out walking and doing my ten thousand steps, and I was looking at creation as constantly expressing “goodwill”…something that is possible to express even in negative circumstances.
Take trees for example…they are basically “chained” to the ground, and they do not get to put on a coat in the winter and they must stay out in the rain and cold, with bugs crawling on them and birds nesting in them. But instead of being hampered by their circumstances, they blossom and bloom.
Goodwill is evident in not just trees but in all creation because even though it comes from God, the creator, it is expressed through a myriad of things we can see concretely.
The Christmas story in fact, says “Peace on earth, goodwill towards men”.
Understanding that God is in charge, allows us to freely and confidently observe the goodwill around us, that is almost incomprehensible, it is so perfect. Look at the spectacular detail on the tiniest flower, one that will probably not last very long, and is so small it will not be noticed by most, yet it is still perfect, intricate, balanced, colorful and has a unique purpose of beauty, and expressing goodwill. The most insignificant thing, invisible to most, still expresses perfection and goodwill, nothing was ignored, left out or left defenseless.
Even the atom, as minuscule as it is, expresses perfection, defense, symmetry and purpose.
Light also expresses goodwill because without light, we could not see all the perfection around us.
Light, encompasses an entire spectrum of colors, and each color is included in light, not divided…and we see light expressed individually as a single ray, and each ray is beautiful and complete. Interestingly,the goodwill of light is not more valuable when it is divided or a single ray by itself, or rare, it is valuable because it is widespread and part of a whole.
Just like Light, human beings are not more valuable when there are fewer of them but are more valuable when they are widespread and we are in fact told to choose life.
The trick of April fools day, would be perhaps, to believe that God provided goodwill, and then did not make goodwill widespread. Isn’t that a funny joke that mankind might fall for, when in fact, goodwill is not in short supply, is not limited, and is not hidden.
Each of us, like the trees or the flowers are in our perfect place, and our circumstances provide a bountiful array of opportunities to see and express goodwill. If we are not seeing it, maybe we are not expressing it…and then most likely it is our perspective that needs to change, not the perspectives of others or our environment. There is in fact, an abundance of peace on earth and goodwill towards men, and I see it more and more every day.
