God saw his creation was good

GOODWILL

Last of three parts

Work well done — the process as well as the product — gives deep satisfaction. It is part of God’s image in us. He looked at his creation with gratification, seeing it was very good (Gen. 1).

Humans were not only part of creation but God appointed them as guardians of it (Gen. 1:28, 2:15). Adam had to tend and watch over the garden. The Hebrew word for watch is also used for a watchman or protector. Protect against what? It was before man’s fall into sin. However, Satan had sinned already, and he lurked amongst the trees in the form of a serpent (Rev. 12:9).

Why God did not annihilate him right away remains a mystery. Maybe God wanted Adam to stand up to the intruder. He did, until Eve started reasoning with Satan, and lost the argument.

All creation suffered because of man’s wrong choice. God said the earth would produce thorns and thistles, and humans would suffer in hard work. Animals were killed to produce clothing for them.

Since then, creation groans under sin, looking forward to the day of renewal (Rom. 8:1922). Thousands of animals were killed as sacrifices (2 Chron. 30:24), foreshadows of the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world (John 1:29).

Despite the scars sins caused in creation, much of its beauty remained. Psalmists praised God for the renewal of nature (Ps. 65, 104). They sang about rain and soil, grain fields and grazing herds, mountains and valleys, creeks and trees, birds, zebras and lions. God still shows his goodwill toward creation.

With the incarnation of the Son of God, living in a human body, God came closer to his creation than ever before. He ate bread and fish, wore clothes, walked great distances, sailed on the lake, prayed in the hills, preached about seed and fields, birds and pearls, fig trees and garden herbs.

Sometimes, he intervened in natural processes: multiplying bread and fish, calming a storm, supplying nets-full of fish, and healing illness, disabilities and demon-possession with a word or touch.

When Christ died, the sky darkened at 3 p.m., and when he rose again an angel descended in blinding light. At both occasions, earthquakes occurred. Creation was involved in the process of salvation.

In many ways, man failed as guardian of creation. Overpopulation and burning of fossil fuels caused pollution and climate change. Deforestation rob earth of oxygen. Deserts are expanding, natural habitat for wild animals are shrinking, and choral reefs are bleaching. Some animals have been saved from the brink of extinction, but many more are placed on the endangered list every year.

As guardians, we are called to share God’s goodwill towards creation.

Jacob Van Zyl of Lethbridge is a retired counsellor and the author of several faith-based books.