Wednesday · From "It All Begins with God - Genesis 1:1-2:3" on Genesis 1:1-2:3
And It Was Very Good
"Genesis 1:31 (ESV) And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day."
Genesis 1:31 · ESV
Six times God looks at what he has made and calls it good. Here, at the close of the sixth day, the word grows: “behold, it was very good.” This is not a shrug of approval; it is delight. The Maker steps back and takes joy in the world he has spoken into being. Before anything is broken, before anything goes wrong, the verdict over creation is gladness.
James pulled two things out of that goodness on Sunday. First, we do not worship creation — the sun and moon are not gods, just a greater light and a lesser light made by the one who matters. Second, we do not neglect it. What God called very good, we are called to steward: to tend it, protect it, and bring him glory in a world he still loves.
Do not slide into either extreme. Calling the world very good is not permission to make it your god, chasing all your meaning from what you can see and hold. And it is not license to trash it as disposable. James named the deeper stakes: wherever God's people have gone, they have carried a culture of life, because the God of life called his world good.
So look at what is in front of you today — your work, your body, your corner of the world — and treat it as something God called very good and handed you to keep. You are not here to worship it or to waste it. You are here to steward it, and in doing that ordinary work well, to reflect the goodness of the God who made it.
Reflect
What has God called “very good” and placed in your care — and are you tempted to worship it, waste it, or steward it?
Pray
Father, you looked at all you made and called it very good. Forgive me for either idolizing your gifts or neglecting them. Teach me to hold what you have given me with care, to steward it well, and to let it point back to your goodness. Amen.
