God is the fountain of every good

Moreover, although our mind cannot apprehend God without rendering some honour to Him, it will not simply suffice to hold that there is one to whom we ought honour and adore unless we are also persuaded that He is the fountain of every good, and we must seek nothing elsewhere than in Him

Jean Calvin. Institutes I P40

It is the great, driving desire of every human to be happy. And this can't be a bad desire, since God has put it into us. All of us are made to be hedonists, the problem comes when we try to satisfy these desires outside of God.

Calvin argues that once we conceive of a God who created the universe, who is moral and powerful, we can't help but render Him some honour, we can't help but think highly of Him. But that's not enough. You might think highly of a headmaster, you might honour a policeman, but we can not think of God like this?

Why not. Because God isn't just an honourable dignitary, He is the fountain of all good! God is where every laugh, every moment of joy, every heartbeat skipping moment comes from. All the good in the world is just a stream of goodness. God is the ocean. So we must swim in this ocean, and this make a difference in the way we relate to God, and following, in our lives.

It must make a difference in the way we read the Bible. To hear the good, life giving voice of the God of the ages speaking to us.

It must make a difference in the way we pray. Not to perform a religious duty but coming to our Father trusting in His love and goodness.

It must make a difference when we share the Gospel. No more 'the teen didn't get saved and then died on the way home...' Let's give them Jesus, the fountain and source of good instead. Attract our listeners to Christ, don't scare them to Him.

It must make a difference in how we preach. Our hearts must be exposed to this white hot goodness. Not our best life now, but our best life forever and ever.

It must make a difference in our approach to sin. Sin promises us happiness, Jesus promises more, and crucially can deliver. John Owen's major application in his works on sin is simple: expose your heart to the Gospel!

It must make a difference to our marriages. I must lead my wife to drink more and more deeply from this fountain, as a fellow beggar who has found a feast.

Rejoice today that holiness doesn't mean dull duty or boring box ticking. It means more of Jesus, the fountain of all good.