Genesis 1:31: "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good."
Good is a word that's hard to find these days. Either it's been replaced with something negative, or it's used so much it's lost its true meaning. Before the fall, in the first chapter of Genesis, God created all that we see. When He was finished with His creation, He took a step back and looked at all He had created, and acknowledged that it was "very good." However, as most of us know, the story doesn't end there.
In Genesis 3, we're introduced to the Serpent. Like any other story, the Serpent is the villain. He's come to destroy what God has made and corrupt the beauty of the world. The Serpent succeeds by tempting Adam and Eve to disobey God's one command. If you were to read the Bible for the first time, you'd be pretty shocked to see this great creation fall so quickly. Or so you would think.
In Genesis 3:15, God makes a promise. He says to the serpent, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
This is the ultimate prophecy. In almost every great story, there's this idea of "a chosen one." Where do you think they got this idea? Right here in Genesis 3:15! God promises someone will come and "crush" the head of the Serpent. For most of us, we know that person to be Jesus Christ. God Himself in the flesh. Jesus came to redeem and defeat the Serpent, aka Satan. God came down in the form of a man and dwelt within His creation.
What's so interesting about the narrative of Christ is that because He was indeed God, that means God willingly came down into His broken creation to save His people. Think about it. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, He could have easily said, "Hold on, let's start over." Think about a product that malfunctions, or a type of food or medicine that causes people to become very, very sick. What do they do? They recall it. They tell people they can turn in the old product for a better one.
God didn't do that. God didn't recall humanity, but rather He saved it through His sovereignty.
Jesus came to His people and said in John 8:12, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
In Genesis 1, the first thing God made was light. And as you might have guessed, He called it "good." If Jesus is that light, and if the power of the Holy Spirit now abides in those who believe in the truth of the Gospel, that means there is good in this world, because "we are the light of this world" (Matthew 5:14).
In Jefferson Bethke's latest book, "It's Not What You Think," he asks the question "Are you a Genesis 1 or Genesis 3 Christian?" This question really made me think about my views on this world. As Christians, I believe we have to stop thinking as Genesis 3 Christians, and start acting like Genesis 1 Christians. Is this world messed up? Yes! Does this world have its flaws? Yes! Is the current presidential race an absolute mess? Yes!
But remember, God came down and lived in this mess willingly. He came down to enjoy friendship, food, drink, etc. All of the things that God made in Genesis 1 and called "good" are still good when we enjoy them within their proper context.
Pastor Matt Chandler of the Village Church often says, "When we enjoy things within their proper context, we can enjoy them to their fullest extent."
A non-believer can indeed enjoy things like food, drink and sex. But as Christians, when we enjoy one of these things within their proper context, our enjoyment doesn't stop at the action. Rather it ripples up to God as we thank Him for the ability to enjoy whatever it may be.
While this world isn't our home, and we do indeed have God's everlasting Kingdom awaiting us, that doesn't mean we have to sit around twiddling our thumbs, waiting for Him to return or for Him to call us home. He's made things in this world, and when we begin to become transformed by Christ, rather than conforming to the pattern of this world, we can begin to enjoy the amazing things God created in Genesis 1 and called "good."
