 Saturday: It was good
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
Genesis 1:31a
Before we go too far on our pilgrim journey, there is another important lesson
to take from the creation stories. While God was working, He was also evaluating
what He had done. Step by step and day by day, God looked at what He had
done and saw that it was good. At the end of the process, He looked at everything
and saw that it was very good.
Although the Creator provided us with His own example of doing good work
and building on it, we have a tendency to pursue a different course. Consider
the example of King David. One evening he saw a beautiful woman washing herself.
He asked about her and learned that she was married. David could have considered
his situation and left her alone, but he chose to send for her. David could
have sent her home, but he chose to have an affair and she became pregnant.
David could have sought forgiveness from her and her husband, but he chose
to arrange the man's death. Instead of following God's example by confirming
that each step was good, David made things worse with every decision he made.
His choices planted seeds that separated him from God, violated a woman,
killed a man, wounded his family, and eventually divided a nation. Even though
David would later repent, damage had been done which could not be undone.
We have the opportunity to grow as followers of Christ by evaluating our
progress on this journey. We have only been on our pilgrimage for a few days,
but it is not too early to consider whether the path we are following is
a good path or something less. Are our motives pure? Are our hearts humble?
Are we truly preparing ourselves for a journey with God?
If today's steps were good, then we have something good to build upon and
the end of the journey can be very good. If today's steps were not good,
now is the time to make a change. It is not enough to do better than David.
God set the standard at creation. Every step must be a good step. We must
strive to make each step and each day a good one, too.
Most perfect Father in heaven, thank you for Your wondrous creation. It
is good. It is very good. Thank you for showing me the importance of doing
things well step by step and day by day. Give me the wisdom, the patience,
and the courage to review my work and my behavior honestly and fairly so
that I can build upon that which is good. Let every word from my mouth and
every work of my hands bring glory and honor to You. Amen.
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