GOOD ENOUGH

Gen 1:9; 31

“God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.” …

“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.”

I love the story of creation. It is an amazing narrative and there is so much to draw from it. I especially enjoyed seeing how things were back then as compared to how things are today. We are so used to this fallen nature of both earth and mankind that it is hard to comprehend how things were like then before the Fall. Do Adam and Eve get the flu? Do they live in a house or shelter themselves from the elements? Do they wear clothes? Do they have toilets? Were there bugs? It will do us good (once a while) to look back to Eden (prior to the Fall) so we don’t lose sight of that which is to come. It will help keep things in perspective. 

Creation, as recorded in Genesis 1, involved six days. God “rested” on the seventh. Throughout the six days, God affirmed “it was good”. And after the grand finale (sixth day – creation of man) it was recorded, “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good”. Take note: good, and very good, but definitely not perfect. And this brings to light many of the issues that supposedly evade our understanding, such as “Why do bad things happen to good people?”

Only God and God alone is perfect. Had God made us perfect, we would have become like Him instead of being in the image of Him. This cosmic world tells us we can be perfect and we need to strive for perfection. It tells us we should never be satisfied and failure is never an option. Where does this ideology come from? Something conceived by man? Certainly not God, for only God alone can be perfect. It came from Lucifer a.k.a. satan. Lucifer wasn’t contented being the archangel. He wanted to become like God. He thought he can be God. It was then proven; the created cannot be the Creator. Together with one third of the angelic hosts, Lucifer was judged and cast out of the heavens. The earth became formless and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; an uninhabitable planet (Gen. 1:2).

God began His work of restoration in Genesis 1. In the midst of the earth, He planted the Garden of Eden. There he placed the first of mankind – Adam and Eve. In the midst of the Garden, God planted the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. One leads to life eternal while the other leads to death. Literally the Tree of Life and the Tree of Death. God commanded man to stay clear of the tree of death. Man did not have to concern themselves with the pursue of the knowledge of what is good and what is evil. Apart from the tree of death, everything else God made was good and very good! All they had to do was to partake of all the good God had created. The tree of death was a visual reminder of the presence of the Deceiver. Satan was in existence, but the evil on earth had not manifested, not until man decided to trust in the devil rather than God. Adam and Eve didn’t fall because of temptations. They knew the word or God. They simply did not trust God at His word. Following the Fall, we see the manifestations of bad and evil.

We need to understand the word “created” in Genesis 1:1. Create can mean one of three things. To make something out of nothing; to make something out of something; to reshape (remodel) something that exists. Only God can make something out of nothing. I can create an art piece with Lego blocks and it can be good. Someone else can improve on it and make it very good. To further improve it to the point of perfection is only but a perception. While God’s word did teach us to strive forward towards the goal; to run with the attitude of winning the race, the reality is, we will not always be the number one in every race because we are not made perfect. The moment a record is broken, someone else will break the record. Biblical teachings are such that in everything we do, do it to the best and to the glory of God. Do it with the attitude of winning the race yet humbly at heart, embrace the reality that God made all things good or very good, short of perfect. This is (I believe) is the perfect plan of God; making all things in such a manner that there is room to grow, to improve and to explore and discover. Had God made us perfect, there will be no need for us to strive forward, to be better. Only the imperfect have room to grow, to expand, to explore. Come to think of it, had God made all things perfect, will we still care about heaven? 

My point today? Good, or very good, is good enough. This is not about being mediocre. It is knowing the game  and thus moving forward one step at a time. Learn to be content where we are as we continue to strive forward toward with the attitude of one who believe good can be better and better can be best. Striving for perfection will be the attitude we must have. God made the earth and the universe for us. Let us enjoy the journey. Life does not  end here on earth. God knows it will take lifetimes to even uncover the mystery of His creation so He created mankind with eternity in mind. His offer of eternal life still stands today. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Kid: “Ma. I got my Math test results.”

Mom: “How did you do?”

Kid: “Sorry ma. I go 40%.”

Mom: “Hmm …. 40% is still better than 30%. Good for now. There is still 60% room for improvement.”