Don’t Just Sing the Goodness of God - Taste it for Yourself.
- Henley Samuel
- Apr 24
- 6 min read
April 24, 2026
From the time we were children, we have been singing it. "God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, He is so good to me." You know the melody by heart. The words come easily. But here is a question worth sitting with today: have you actually tasted it?
There is a profound difference between hearing about something and tasting it for yourself. If someone asks you what snake tastes like and you have never eaten it, you might say, "I imagine it tastes like chicken." But until you have actually tasted it, you only know what others have told you. The experience is entirely different.
What God's Goodness Is Not
Before we press into what God's goodness truly is, we need to clear away a widespread misunderstanding that has quietly weakened the faith of many believers.
In much of the Christian world, God's goodness is treated as conditional or inconsistent. "Sometimes He is good; sometimes He disciplines harshly." When someone faces a terminal illness, there is a temptation to pray weakly: "Lord, Your will be done," as though suffering might simply be His plan.
The Scripture is plain. James 1:17 tells us:
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." James 1:17
There is no shadow in God. No inconsistency. No dark side. He does not flip between goodness and cruelty depending on the season. And in that same chapter, just a few verses later, He makes an even stronger declaration: God does not tempt anyone. No one who faces trial should say,
"When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;" James 1:13
A person is tempted by their own desires. God has nothing to do with it. What He does is deliver us from it. He is the Deliverer in the midst of your trial, not the author of it.
"God is not the source of your suffering. He is the solution to it."
What John 3:16 Is Actually Saying
With that foundation set, let us come to the verse that perhaps every believer knows by heart. John 3:16:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16
We know it. We have heard it hundreds of times. And sometimes, precisely because it is so familiar, we stop actually reading it. So let us read it carefully today.
Notice what this verse does NOT say. It does not say God came primarily because of sin. It does not say He came so that you could go to heaven. Those things are true, and they are glorious. But that is not what this specific verse is focused on. What it says is: God gave His Son so that whoever believes would have everlasting life. The central promise here is eternal life. And when we understand what eternal life actually means, everything opens up.
Eternal Life Is Not What We Thought
Most of us were taught that eternal life is a future reward. You die, you go to heaven, and that is when eternal life begins. But the Scripture says something startlingly different. John 3:36 says:
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life." John 3:36
Hath. Present tense. Not "will have." Not "shall receive someday." The believer already has it, right now. Jesus reinforces this in John 5:24 and again in John 6:47, repeating the same truth with double emphasis: the one who believes in Him has eternal life. It is not coming. It is already given.
"Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life." John 5:24
"Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life." John 6:47
So what exactly is eternal life? Jesus defines it Himself in John 17:3, and His definition may surprise you:
"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." John 17:3
Eternal life is knowing God. Knowing Him. The word "know" here carries the same depth of intimacy found in Genesis 4 when it says Adam knew his wife Eve. It is the language of closeness, union, personal relationship. Eternal life is not primarily a place you will go. It is a relationship you already have, beginning the moment you received Jesus.
Why God Created You in the First Place
Understanding eternal life as knowing God is not a theological detail for scholars. It is the answer to the deepest question of human existence: why are we here?
The Scripture says in 1 John 4:8 that God is love itself:
"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." (1 John 4:8)
When someone IS love by nature, their very being compels them to express it. But love always needs an object. God, who is love, created us so that His love could be poured out and genuinely received. Revelation confirms that we were created for His pleasure.
"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things" Revelation 4:11
That word "pleasure" in the original carries the idea of delight, of joy. When He looks at you, there is joy. If He carried a wallet, your photograph would be in it.
This is why Adam and Eve before the fall needed no prayer lists, no desperate intercessions, no anxious petitions. They simply walked with God in the cool of the day, talked with Him, belonged to Him. That was the original design. That closeness, that easy companionship, that daily knowing. Sin broke it, creating a barrier between God and humanity. That is why Romans 5:1 is such good news:
"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 5:1
The barrier is gone. Through Jesus, the relationship is fully restored.
The Real Good News
This reframes the gospel entirely. For too long, some have presented the good news as only a warning: "Accept Jesus or go to hell." That is true, but it is not the full picture. The real good news is not just that punishment is avoided. It is that what was stolen has been returned. You were created for intimacy with the living God, and Jesus came to give you exactly that.
"Heaven is a wonderful bonus. But eternal life is the relationship itself. And it begins right now."
God's goodness is not abstract. It is not a theological formula. It is a living reality: He loves you completely, He created you for Himself, He gave everything so that you could know Him, and He has already placed eternal life inside you the moment you received His Son. That eternal life is not waiting for you at the end of your days. It is already yours, right now, in the form of a relationship with the God who is thoroughly and unshakeably good.
Taste that today. Not just sing about it. Taste it.
Conclusion
Eternal life is not a future destination. It is a present relationship. God's love was fully revealed at Calvary, the barrier of sin was removed, and you were restored to the intimacy you were always designed for. You already have eternal life. It is knowing God personally, walking with Him daily, and discovering for yourself that He is not sometimes good and sometimes harsh. He is, without shadow or turning, thoroughly and always good.
Reflect on This
Have you experienced God's goodness as a personal, firsthand reality, or has it mostly remained something you have heard others talk about? What might it look like to truly "taste" His goodness in your life this week?
If eternal life means knowing God personally right now, rather than simply going to heaven someday, how does that change the way you approach your daily walk with Him?
Prayer
Father, I thank You that You are good, always and without shadow of turning. I receive the eternal life You have already given me. I declare that knowing You is the greatest treasure I possess. I believe that You love me completely and that nothing in my past or present can separate me from that love. I choose today to walk in intimacy with You, to taste Your goodness for myself, and to trust You fully. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Key Takeaways
Tasting God's goodness is a personal, firsthand experience that goes beyond hearing secondhand testimonies.
God does not bring affliction or temptation into your life; He is a Deliverer who meets you in the midst of trials.
Eternal life, is knowing God personally and intimately, and it begins the moment you receive Christ.
We were created to enjoy relationship with God, to delight in His love and to bring Him joy in return.
The good news of the gospel is ultimately the restoration of the personal relationship between God and humanity that sin had broken.
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To dive deeper into this powerful message, watch the full sermon on our YouTube video below.
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