Goodness of God -- Jenn Johnson, Ed Cash, Jason Ingram, Ben Fielding, Brian Johnson

God is good. Have you ever heard someone say that? And yet, even Jesus – God in the flesh – had a reply to that compliment which must have befuddled those with whom he traveled and spoke (see Mark 10:18 and Luke 18:19). Jenn Johnson had a reason to say out loud something about the “Goodness of God” though, because a new life was in her arms, and in a most unexpected way since she hadn’t even been pregnant nor really considering having another child. But, adopting a new baby boy was an awesome thing, and has been for so many parents over the decades since its beginning in America in the latter part of the 19^th Century (see Sister Irene and children at New York Foundling orphanage in this picture; Sister Irene is among the pioneers of modern adoption, establishing a system to board out children rather than institutionalize them.) And, it wasn’t an accident that the song spoke to the four men – her husband Brian, and Ben Fielding, Jason Ingram, and Ed Cash -- who helped Jenn finish off what she started writing in a car one day.

 

Adoption by many people can be a long process, with lots of anxiety and uncertainty, but for Jenn and Brian, it was like a miracle that proceeded so smoothly. The birth mother even related to the Johnsons so well, that she appeared at the hearing that finalized the process, one that had begun when this woman hand-picked this Christian songwriting couple to be her baby’s parents and even met them at the hospital on the day of the baby’s delivery. Even a judge of several decades who presided at the court said he’d never seen anything like it. That’s how it must be when God’s intimately involved, one might conclude. That must have been on Jenn’s mind too, when one day on the way to a doctor’s appointment, she spontaneously began to sing a song about God’s goodness, as she reflected back on her life and had a feeling that God’s faithfulness had shone through to her. Her newest child (they named him Ryder Moses) was the latest sign of His goodness, and this thought helped her produce 50-60% of the song about God’s goodness on the spot in an otherwise routine car trip to see a doctor. In talking with Ben and Jason a short time later in Redding, California, they remembered feeling that Jenn’s efforts had already produced a winner, and that little remained to do in its creation. One thing that stood out to them was that her words were so universally true, that they felt like the story she was relating through the already-completed lyrics was also theirs. Ed also contributed with some thoughts that became the song’s bridge section, saying that while the message of the song was one he hadn’t heard before, he felt that it had been around for some time. And so, he thought that that was something he wanted to communicate -- that God is relentless in running after us, meeting us in all the pain and struggle of life, even if His presence sometimes might not be very discernible. Amazingly, Ed says his anxiety at flying on a plane would depart from him whenever he listened to the song in flight.

 

Thank God for adoption! None but One is His unique (some bible translations say ‘begotten’) Son, so for me to be part of His family, I have to agree to be His adopted son. That idea was really special for someone like the apostle Paul (see Romans 8:15,23; 9:4; Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:5), for though of Jewish birth, he considered himself to have been the worst sinner (1 Timothy 1:15-16), and deservedly far from being included in God’s family. And so, when he talked to Gentiles whom he often encountered, that same message flowed to them from him, an adopted son in God’s kingdom. It is indeed special to be chosen by Him. What is the alternative to being adopted? Sister Irene must have seen and grimaced so many times at the circumstances that ensued when a baby was rejected by everyone, leaving it without a home and loving parents. God doesn’t operate an orphanage, and He sure doesn’t want to reject you and me (2 Peter 3:9). In His image-making generosity, He’s already visualized you on a path toward, and living space inside His home, and even provided a special brother and a Spirit to make sure you find the way there. The other operative factors really are the choices that you and I make.

 

Watch/hear the song story here: https://www.worshiptogether.com/songs/goodness-of-god-bethel/

 

See it here also: https://www.foxnews.com/faith-values/adoption-miracle-worship-song

 

See information on the photo here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Children_at_New_York_Foundling_cph.3a23917.jpg … This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or fewer… {{PD-US}} – US work that is in the public domain in the US for an unspecified reason, but presumably because it was published in the US before 1931. …found inside this article -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adoption

 

Children of God -- Mac Powell, Tai Anderson, David Carr, Mark Lee

 

Watch the video (see the link to it below) that really tells the story well, because it is a powerful optical representation of who the “Children of God” really are. That’s what Mac Powell and his fellow bandmates Tai Anderson, David Carr, and Mark Lee wanted to express both in sight and sound in 2010 when they made this audiovisual product, a way to really tell how their musical group’s name – Third Day – gives rise to a message that transcends what happens here on Earth. Their group’s home base was northern Georgia (see the photo-map of Cobb County Georgia, where the band Third Day originated), but these four musicians evidently found that home was not bound by a plot of ground terrestrially, but by wherever their Maker was living. And, that’s a pretty wide space, considering that He is the Creator of everything and is therefore omnipresent. You and I can go anywhere and be at home, among His family, as long as He is there. And, as the song underscores, we can invite anyone else to come along and feel the same.  

 

Part of the way through the video, you will see adopted children, identified by the t-shirts emblazoned with adopted, who’ve been brought into human families (including Mac Powell’s family, into which his children Emmanuel and Birdie were adopted). Bill Schick, the director of an orphanage in Mexico, and his family are also pictured with some adopted children. The video then moves deeper into the adopted theme with the adults taking off their shirts to show adopted t-shirts, just like the children, highlighting the song’s message that we are all God’s adopted kids, a reason to celebrate and lift His name in thanksgiving. Though God is the reason that all of this celebration is possible, Mac and Third Day use lyrics that emphasize how ‘we’ humans can rejoice with each other in what He has done for each of ‘us’. ‘We’ is in the lyrics a whopping 41 times, while ‘us’ is sung 10 times, and ‘our’ or ‘your’ is sung 13 times. So, I am not alone. Neither are you. That’s great news! And, the lyrics further tell what comes with being an adoptee. I am ‘redeemed’, ‘free’, and a ‘saint’ as a ‘son’ or ‘daughter’. Just imagine that, these four songwriters say: a community of guiltfree saints who’ve been liberated to treat each other as siblings in one gigantic family. This Father-God that we all share is the One who ‘has given us (all) life’, not in just a singular isolated sense, but as a species that He dearly wants so much, that He spilt ‘the blood of His Son’ to consummate this arrangement. We humans, as parents, might adopt at most a handful of kids, because that’s all we can afford – our houses and finances are limited, after all. But if you were a parent with unlimited resources, what would you do? That’s our Father’s angle on this. He chose us, without reserve.

 

Just try getting inside the unfathomable mind of Him who made all of us, and continues to make each of us as time marches on. How would/does He feel seeing His image-bearers, those with whom He wanted to spend eternity, being separated from Himself? What could He, the One who is called Love, do about this? What if He were something besides Love? He also defines justice, mercy, grace, holiness, and so much else that our limited minds cannot comprehend – it’s too complex, too much wattage to absorb. So, He doesn’t want you and me to sort it all out, to understand it to the nth degree. What He’s done might still be a mystery – Paul says our inclusion among His people was hidden for so long (see many passages that talk of this mystery in his letters to the Romans, Corinthians [1^st letter], Ephesians, Colossians, and to Timothy [1^st letter]) – and you and I still might feel a bit foggy. But the video is an echo of Paul’s words – that we’re all on the same plane, all adopted by Him. That is our identity. We all get to Him in the same way, through His love song called Jesus.        

 

 

Watch this official Third Day Children of God video for a visual story that the song conveys: Bing Videos

 

Read about the video that visually tells the story connected to the song: Third Day's new music video shines light on adoption

 

Read about the group Third Day here: Third Day - Wikipedia

 

Read  here some about the director of an orphanage, Bill Schick, who is featured speaking in the official Third Day music video for the song: Third Day, Schick family promote adoption | Samaritan Ministries

 

See information on the map showing location of Cobb County in Georgia here: File:Map of Georgia highlighting Cobb County.svg - Wikimedia Commons …The following statement accompanies to photo: I, the copyright holder of this work, release this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so:I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.