God is good.

I’ve always understood this statement as a description. Recently, however, it occurred to me that perhaps I’ve been misinterpreting it all along. I’m thinking that it was actually meant as a definition. The word good, I’m thinking, may not be an adjective in this sentence. It might actually be a noun.

If good is an adjective, then when you look around you and see good things, you know they came from God. You look inside yourself and see goodness, and you know it is from God.

If you read it as a noun, however, making the statement into a definition, then the two words become interchangeable. God is good. Good is God. Good and God are the same thing. Synonyms.

If good is a noun, then when you look around you and see good things, you are seeing God. You look inside yourself and see goodness, and it is God. Everywhere you go, everywhere you look, every thought you think, everything you feel — all that is good is God.

Reading the statement the second way brings God into the here and now. Right where He should be. I like that.