kollaō

Cling. Cleave.

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.
(Romans 12:9, NKJV – my emphasis)

Like glue.

To good.

And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
(Mark 10:18, ESV)

Jesus turned a question from a wealthy young ruler on its head. Good?

No one is good except God alone. Jesus performed soul surgery with amazing precision. By addressing Jesus as “good”, this man was in fact proclaiming Him to be God… because He’s good. Jesus wanted to make sure He understood this before He asked him to abandon his confidence in the fact that a large Balance Sheet was what he thought defined good. If the young ruler had followed Jesus instruction to sell everything and give it to the poor, he would still be clinging to good. To Jesus. The test was not to step away from good, but to step toward it. Lasting good. Eternal good.

Against this backdrop the Apostle Paul informs us that we should cling to “good”. Not “good” as I’m often prone to think of it. But Good with a capital G. Good, as in God. Good, as in Jesus.

Good, not as an adjective, but as a noun. The noun of all nouns.

Hating evil without clinging to good leads to revenge, and hatred, and bitterness. Clinging to good without hating evil makes a mockery of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.

When we cling to Jesus, the Christ, we are permanently connected to hope. Glued to it.

This week, we feel the pain of the evil in Parkland, Florida. Our hearts ache. But instead of despair, we cling. Desperation does this. Love compels it.

I cling to the source of hope. Not because Jesus navigated around trouble, or pain, or suffering, or evil, but because He broke through it. Without dismissing it, or sugar coating it.

Evil has an adversary. A conqueror. A Champion.

This is why we cling to Him, even as He holds us fast.

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. (John 10:27-29, NLT)

Good. Secure in His grip.

Against the backdrop of chaos and evil.

I cling. We cling.

Out of desperation. In the mainstream of His love.

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
                             and why are you in turmoil within me?
              Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
                             my salvation (Psalm 42:5, ESV)

Hope in God.

No artificial positive thinking, but a deeply rooted attachment to God. To Jesus.

Tonight, I’m clinging. It is the only place of hope.