The God Who Declares Goodness

This powerful exploration takes us back to the very foundation of our faith by asking a question that resonates through the ages: who has the right to define what is good? Beginning with Moses at the burning bush, we journey through the revelation of God's name—'I Am'—the one who simply exists, needing nothing, depending on no one. But the message goes deeper, connecting this eternal God to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and ultimately to the God who spoke everything into existence. What's striking is that in Genesis, we see God repeatedly declaring His creation 'good.' This isn't arbitrary—it's the Creator defining goodness itself. God doesn't just make rules; He establishes the very standard of what is right and beautiful because everything flows from His character. The challenge for us today mirrors the challenge in Eden: will we accept God's definition of goodness, or will we insist on determining it ourselves? Young people aren't leaving faith because they doubt its truth—they're leaving because they reject God's authority to command their lives. This is the ancient temptation repackaged: the serpent didn't deny God's existence but questioned His right to set boundaries. When we understand that evil isn't an equal opposite force but rather a twisting of the good things God created, we see why surrendering to God's wisdom isn't restriction—it's freedom. The question isn't whether Christianity is true, but whether we'll let the One who created everything define what is truly good for us.