Genesis 1:31. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.
Life is good. That’s not just something to put on a t-shirt or a bumper sticker. It’s God’s heartfelt response to creation. God is happy with what he has made. Creation brings him delight.
The biblical account of creation is very different from every other ancient creation story. Other religions told tales of the earth and humanity being formed as the result of a great cosmic battle. As the gods fought each other for control, out came humans as a result of divine outrage. People weren’t loved image bearers, honestly, they were a hassle.
But Genesis 1 paints a very different picture. God takes an uninhabitable, “formless and void” world, and makes it livable. Why? So that the Trinity can live with humanity in a world full of grace and love. So that we can share in God’s intimacy and impact. Creation isn’t just something God has to put up with; it is his pleasure. It is good. It is very good.
So what makes something good?
The Hebrew word for “good” is towb. In the Bible towb is the best something can be. There is nothing better than being towb. Something is towb when it is functioning as it is intended, and as a result, it brings delight or satisfaction. Everything in nature was towb because it all did what it was designed to do. God didn’t cut any corners. Everything was very good. As a result, everything brought joy to God’s heart.
We are no exception. Our lives are meant to be good. Not “good” as in things could be better. Good like towb. A life that fulfills God’s purpose for us. But is this happening? Is your life towb? Are you living up to your designed purpose and bringing pleasure to God?
In yesterday’s reading, we saw that our purpose begins with love. “Be fruitful and multiply.” That’s not just about baby-making anymore. In Christ, it’s about filling the earth with the love of God in Christ. It’s about impacting the world with the intimacy of the Trinity through the gospel. Our “be fruitful in multiply” is now “go and make disciples.”
In Genesis 1, God’s spoken word produced what is good. Now God’s living Word, Jesus Christ, produces what is good in us. Being in Christ means your life is good. Not easy. Not without trouble and sorrow. But good. Complete. Fulfilling. In Christ, your life can be good even when everything around you is bad. How? Because in Christ God delights in you. God looks at you and declares “behold, you are very good.”
Romans 15:14. I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness.
To live is Christ means that you ARE living up to your purpose as an image bearer. You are worshiping. You are serving. You are shaping the “formless” places and filling the “empty” spaces with the love of Christ in you.
And that is very good.
You: Do you think of your life as being good? Why or why not?
You in Christ: How does being in Christ allow us to fulfill our purpose as image bearers? (Think about the concepts of intimacy and impact.)
Christ in you: How might your day be different if you really believed that life is good and that God delights in you?
To Live is Christ 