“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31)
We’ve all heard the phrase. We’ve all said the phrase. “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” I couldn’t tell you how many times I have entrusted a project to someone else, and it didn’t quite turn out the way I wanted it to. I’m sure you can relate.
Ever wonder where that phrase came from? Personally, I believe that phrase originated with God. Genesis 1:31 tells us that “God saw all that HE had made……and it was very good.” The word good is the Hebrew word tov. It is a word that can mean good, pleasant, desirable, usable, or beautiful. Used in Genesis 1, it gives us the idea of God looking over his creation with a divine grin spreading over his face. He saw what he created and was very pleased with it. Later in Genesis 16:13 Hagar called God El Roi, the God who sees.
The point is, God assumes nothing. He keeps his watchful eye on everything and everyone. It also means he inspects what he expects. When the sin that had entered the garden began to permeate his creation, Psalm 14:2-3 tells us that “the Lord looked down from heaven on the children of man” and saw that “there is none who does good (tov), not even one.” That must have been an experience that broke his heart. He had created so much good for mankind, and now mankind was anything but good.
So, what was God to do with a bunch of rebellious sinful misfits? Simple. In his mercy and grace, HE became the one who did good once again. Even the crowds saw it, proclaiming of Jesus, “He has done all things well.” (Mark 7:37). Everything about Jesus Christ’s coming to die on the cross and resurrect from the dead – was good.
If you want something done right, do it yourself. So, God did. He did it at creation, and he did it on the cross. He did things right for us. And now, because we are his in Christ, he sees us, and a smile erupts on his face once again. Because once again he knows that because of his son, it is good (tov). And he knows that someday you and I too will see all that good that he created in the beginning. We will “see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13)
Darlene