At least one and maybe both are mythical
I did it; I captured Bigfoot on film. Not the Yeti, the American Coot, whose big feet enable it to walk atop water vegetation with ease. Similar terms, but with completely different meanings.
That happens all the time in discussions of faith and religion. Someone will say, “I believe in God,” but what God? The God of the Bible or from another faith or even something you’ve crafted in your head? Christians, Muslims, Mormons, Buddhists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, pantheists, and more would give you a different definition of God but use the same word.
Someone will tell you that they are a good person. What is good? By whose definition are you good? Do you mean you think you aren’t as evil as someone else, or that you make fewer mistakes than someone else? Do you mean you do enough good things to make up for the bad?
I don’t know if Bigfoot is real or mythical, but most think it’s mythical. If so, it has more in common with good people than you might think.
The Bible has some hard teaching on that subject.
And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. Mark 10:17-18
The rich young ruler wasn’t a particularly evil man; in fact, from what follows, most people might say he was good.
You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Mark 10:19-22
He seemed to have at least tried to keep all the rules of the Law. It would have been impossible, but at least he made the effort. Still, he wasn’t a good person.
Or perhaps you can say, I keep all the commandments, and I don’t love wealth like the ruler, so I’m good. Still, Jesus would say you aren’t good. Only God can say that.
The bible says we are all sinners (Romans 3:23), and if we say we are without sin we are liars deceiving ourselves (1 John 1:8). That’s totally contrary to what the world teaches. Other than Jesus, God made flesh, no one has ever been good, at least in God’s eyes.
That doesn’t mean we are without hope. The gospel clearly proclaims that if we trust in Jesus by faith, we will be born again and forgiven. We are covered in the righteousness of Jesus until we get to glory, where we will be without sin.
If you haven’t come to Christ yet, open your heart today. If you are already His, rejoice that He loved you even when you were far from God and came to set you free.
Kevin
SUMMARY
I finally caught ‘Bigfoot’ on camera, but it was an American Coot, not a legendary creature. That same kind of mix-up happens when someone says they believe in God or that they’re a good person.
TAKEAWAY
If you think you’re a good person, ask yourself by what standard you’re measuring “good.”
You can keep every rule you know and still fall short, because Jesus said only God is truly good.
If you’ve trusted Jesus, you’re covered by His righteousness, not by how good you’ve managed to be on your own.
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