Sinfulness and God's Goodness

I just had a random thought in the shower - you can only see how sinful you are when you realise just how good God is.

I suspect that there many folks out there who don't believe in Christ, who aren't particularly rebellious against God or anything - they're just honestly and simply unconvinced by Christianity's assertion that all men are sinful, simply because they don't really feel like they're that bad, compared to everyone else. And in fact, many of them are right. Many of them are good people, loving husbands and wives, caring about others and so on (they are, after all, also originally made in the image of God). I have met many non-Christians who seem to exhibit far more Godly traits than I do. So in the world view of these folks, the argument that they are wretchedly sinful before a holy God just doesn't click.

Even for the Christian, we seldom live with an awareness of just how sinful we are/were/would be without Christ. I mean, we're not Christ-like now but we're not that bad are we? And yet something within us is aware that if God is spending our whole lives perfecting us into Christ-likeness, surely we're not really that close yet.

But get one glimpse at how good God is, and we immediate realise, WHOA! He is SO GOOD, there is NO HO WAY I am anywhere near that. Not even on my best of days. Now all this bowing down to exalt Him and I-am-really-utterly-sinful-before-Him makes sense - for how can a little torchlight, however faithfully he shines his little light, not see his own lack in the face of the huge glorious sun? Straightaway with just a glance at this King, not only can we see just how far we really are from Him, but we are also given all the reason in the world to desire to be one with Him.

And we know, because He is the author and finisher of our faith, that we will be. He is just that good.