He is our Anchor!

Michael E. Wood
December 14, 2010

(Proverbs 14:14b) and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways.

While this portion of Proverbs 14:14 comes as a stark contrast to the proceeding portion which states, "The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways" the latter sparked a question of which I trust the answer given will bring clarity to some that might think themselves to be "good" when in reality their definition of good is measured by the standard of other men rather than the character and holiness of God.

What is it that makes a man a "good" man?

There are those that are good on a temporal level as they have been created by God, who Is good and created men after His Own image. Thus there are those who are born with a propensity toward good on a temporal level, and shall be filled with the enjoyment of those things which are manifest in this life as a bi-product of their manner of life.

This however falls infinitely short of the original purpose for which man was created. Man was created to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Man in his best estate from natural birth because of the original fall in the garden of Eden is hopelessly self-centered and thus every good deed is in some way bound up in the aggrandizement of self without thought toward the glorification of God with the end result of the temporal life being a separation for all eternity from His transcendent glory and the enjoyment of Him.

The rich man in hell referred to in Luke 16:19-31, is a real man, eternally perishing in a real hell. As he appealed to Abraham to send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water to cool his tongue for the anguish of the flame he is in, he was told, "You in your lifetime received your good things."

God is the source of all good, even on a temporal level. Jesus said, "There is none good but God." He also said, " I and my Father are One." And, "I am the way, the truth and the life; no man comes to the Father but by me." Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And thus it is only through Christ that any of us are made eternally good. This understanding comes not from any good we may find in ourselves, but solely as a result of the free grace of God unto Whom all the glory is due and shall be given eternally.

So then, in answer, it is not only what, but Who makes a man a good man, but God alone, by His Spirit, through the cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. From him comes all things of eternal significance, manifested both in this life and in the one to come. And to Him be all the glory both now and forevermore. Amen!

As all things are from God, I found it quite interesting that here in the state of California most of the larger corporations now require that you make application for employment online. As a part of the employment process, you are also required to answer a series of statements by which they evaluate whether you are the type of employee they desire to hire. One such company which has over 1,400 stores is called Panera Bread. By the providence of God, I happened to fill out an application for this company the day after pondering and writing the previous article. Of the approximately one-hundred twenty statements made, one of them was, "All men are basically good." The choices of answer were, Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly Agree.

WOW! Of course I answered Strongly Disagree, and by the time I was finished felt as though I had just undergone psychological, and spiritual warfare. With the answers that I gave, my thought is that their program is probably preassigned to automatically kick out all applicants which do not fit within their humanistic guideline; will never be seen by a real person; resulting in, not being hired by this company. Feeling a little discouraged by the whole process, I turned to read in the Psalms and came to 74:21, of which actually rhymes in the English translations. Beginning there I wrote:

Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame;
Let the poor and needy praise Your Name.
Arise, O God, defend Your great cause,
Be Thou the helper of him who falls
Before You in honor for all that You Are,
Our Father in heaven , Who names every star.

Remember, O LORD, how the enemy scoffs.
Like waves breaking violently over the rocks
You placed to stand strong against all evil tides
Through strength of Your Spirit, in Jesus abides.
As He is our anchor of hope in this place
Through mercy, that we know more fully Your grace.

Forget not the clamor of all of Your foes,
Which think by their violence Your glory o'erthrows.
Yet Yours is the day, and Yours also the night,
You established to show forth the heavenly lights
And fixed all their bound'ries by covenant made
With Jesus, Your Son, by whom we are saved.

Note: Upon giving a copy of this post to one of the managers at Panera Bread in Citrus Heights, CA, I was assured by him that the computer program didn't automatically kick out applicants for their answers and that I should come back to the restaurant after the fifteenth of January.