“God saw all that He had made, and
behold, it was very good….” (Genesis 1:31)
Good ... good ... good ... good ... good ... good ...
very good.
Right off the bat, there it is—the
goodness of God’s heart filling up this first chapter of God’s Word, and
filling up His creation.
I can’t presume to know God’s emotions if He doesn’t tell us how He’s feeling, but when I read this
chapter, it sure seems like I can sense His delight and excitement.
“I’m going to create
light.” Zap! “That is good!”
“I’m going to create land and
seas.” Zap! “That is good!”
“And now I’m going to fill that land
with beautiful plants and trees." Zap! “Yes, that is good!"
The sun, the moon, the stars, sea
creatures and birds, and animals -- He said it was all good.
And then (drumroll) … His crowning work:
man. Made in His own image, with His stamp, some of His own DNA.
After that, God looked over everything He'd made and declared that it was VERY good.
It’s hard to look at
the world we’re in and the people we’re around and remember how perfectly good
it was all supposed to be ... and was at the beginning. And because creation now
so often appears less than good, we suspect the Creator might be too.
But that is a lie.
Genesis 1 is the perfect expression
of the Creator’s good heart, good will, good intentions. If we're going to judge the Creator by His creation, we need to go there.
Perfect man in a perfect place. And
the good Creator was pleased.
A friend of mine told me how her young son was frustrated
one day because he couldn’t find his Bible. Recognizing it was a teachable moment, my friend asked her son, “Why do you think God gave us the
Bible?”
“So we’ll always remember what He’s like,” her son replied.
A lot of wisdom there.
I decided a few years ago to start reading the Bible to find
God’s heart in it. Not just to learn His principles and to be inspired by all
the epic stories and amazing promises, but to see and know His heart.
I found myself sometimes saying to others, “I think God wants
to show us His heart in every book of the Bible.”
It occurred to me recently that maybe I should put my money
where my mouth is—to go through the Bible chapter by chapter (yes, even
Leviticus) and to write about what I find in each chapter that tells me more
about what God is like.
It’s going to be quite a journey. I don’t know if I’ll get
through it all before Jesus comes back or I go home to heaven, but I’d love for
you to go with me for as long as we can.
Chapter by chapter, piece by piece, clue by clue, putting
together a more complete picture of the heart of our God.
We certainly can’t thoroughly know God. He’s way too
big and we’re way too small. But this I do know: The better I see Him, the more I want to see Him.
So, I’m going looking for Him.
Wanna come with me?
