Newsletter Issue #28  --  November 28, 2018  

God's Goodness and Mercy

From a continuing series of lessons on The Good Shepherd and Psalm 23

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

Read through Psalm 23, then ask children, "What do you think it means to have goodness and mercy following you?" (Receive answers.) 

Goodness is God-like character—his good and loving actions. Mercy is God's love towards us, even though we deserve to be punished.  We might get the idea that God's goodness and mercy will happily tag along behind us throughout our lives like a happy little puppy, making everything good for us. But this is not the image that should come to mind. The word for "follow" in Hebrew, the language the Psalm was written in, is "radaph," which means to pursue, hunt down, chase after, to persecute, or hound. 

Why is this important? Because the Bible tells us our adversary, the Devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, [hunting down] and seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). The Devil wants to destroy God's children. But when Jesus is our Good Shepherd, this part of the Psalm tells us that God's goodness and mercy will hunt us down, he will pursue us like a hound dog; he won't give up, even when we go astray! God will do whatever it takes to bring his children into his sheepfold—into his eternal Kingdom. 

When we live our lives following the Good Shepherd and obeying him, a wonderful thing happens: we become more and more like Jesus! Then, wherever we go, we too will show the love of God by doing good things for others, spreading his goodness and mercy to those we meet.

Learn more about the Good Shepherd Psalm 23 Bible Lessons for Children

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