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In the story of creation we’re told that God created everything, but then it tells us something very peculiar. The text says “God saw all that he had made and it was very good.” Gen 1:31 What a strange thing to say. Doesn’t it seem a little odd to tell us something God made would be good? Certainly, whatever God made would be good, so why does this passage make a particular point of telling us that. Perhaps it’s because the world God had designed had the capacity not only for good but also for evil. It was a world in which there was much that was beautiful but also a world with a tendency toward ugliness. And yet, God’s pronouncement suggests he was intentionally choosing to see the goodness in the world despite the bad. The passage could’ve said, and God saw all that he had made and there were really annoying people, colleagues who drive us crazy and neighbors who make our lives miserable. But it focuses on the beautiful rather than the alternative.
It’s so easy to notice the bad rather than the good in our lives; to get wrapped up in the negative and ignore the positive; to see the annoying tendencies of those with whom we work, rather than to see their inherent goodness. It’s so very tempting to assume the worst of each other. It’s so much easier to complain rather than to look for the good in the situations we face and the people we encounter.
We need to be intentional about looking for the wonders that surround us every day. It’s far too easy to miss the beauty and the intricacies of God’s handiwork in the people we encounter in our lives, at work, at home, in our communities, at our churches; focusing instead on their shortcomings and frustrating behaviors. May God give us eyes to see the world as he sees it. May we open our eyes to see that the world and the people around us are indeed very, very, good.
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