Ack! I’ve done it again! Whenever I make a goal like I did on Monday to talk about something rather important here on this little blog, I get so intimidated and want it to be so perfect I end up publishing nothing. Apparently my boss says that it’s better to do something poorly than not at all, so here you go!

I want to start at the beginning, find the most basic proof that God cares about our physical lives in a physical world. And one thing immediately came to mind:

Creation.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. He then went on to fill the earth with water, plants, fish, birds (yes, even those pesky geese that poop everywhere), animals, and all the intricate beauty we see around us if we care to take the time to look for it. How did he do that? I have no idea and I don’t want to go there. The important thing is: He did.

More than that, God called them all good. The light was good. The sea was good. The vegetation, sun and moon, fish and birds, livestock and wild animals all were good! Last of all, God created humans. After He was finished, God stepped back, looked at it all and said it was very good.

It sounds kind-of anticlimactic, don’t you think? In our world of exclamatory phrases, very good sounds like nothing more than what your spouse might say to you when he’s half listening to what you’re saying. “That’s nice, Dear.”

But I think “very good” is so much more than that.

God’s remarks after creating the world remind me of how my mother-in-law unswaddled her firstborn the first moment she was alone with him in the hospital room. She just wanted to count his fingers and toes and admire his beautiful baby body in all of its lovable babyness.

Very good.

Or how wonderful it feels to pick up Jack, kiss his neck, feel his head on my shoulder and snuggle with him as long as he lets me before he runs off to tackle Daddy.

That’s very good.

As I consider these things, I have the impression that with the simple words “very good,” God is communicating His great love for and joy in creation. His love for the world and all that is in it. From mountains to rivers, plants and insects, animals or humans, He affirms their value and its worth in His eyes. Since we are so small it is difficult to comprehend how God could care for each plant, insect, or animal. Sometimes we doubt his care for us, but He is much greater than us. And His love is beyond our comprehension.

The physical world is very good.

I plan to rest in that tonight.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. (Genesis 1:31 NIV)