Best Goodwill

Edgar J. Helms, a Methodist minister, collected used clothes [and household goods] from the wealthier areas of Boston. He then trained and hired the poor to work, mending and repairing the items which were then sold or given to them. How many of us have cleaned out our own closets and cabinets, donating gently used clothes [and household goods] to Helm's Goodwill Industries! Perhaps one of Satan's most subtle yet effective strategies is his suggestion we're not "good enough." He loves to nag us about those besetting sins - those strongholds or habits constantly harassing, troubling and waylaying us. Over and over, again and again, we fail and fall, finding ourselves yet again at Jesus' feet pleading for mercy and forgiveness. All the while, Satan hovers in the background with his "see, I was right" and "I told you so" blather. Okay, this we know: "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6). Nonetheless, "there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1) and "if we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9). Better than used goods refurbished and put to use once again are those who have genuinely trusted their sinfulness to the redemptive work of Jesus and Who has turned mourning into gladness: "Anyone who is in Christ ... is a new creation ... the old has passed away ... the new has come" (1 Corinthians 5:17). The stumbling caused by Satan and sin knows its end in the Merciful Redemptive Power of God through Jesus Christ.That is goodwill at its best!