“Then God looked over all He had made, and He saw that it was excellent in every way” (Genesis 1:31).

If you read through Genesis 1, you will find the story of how God created the world. And if you read it closely, you will notice something important: every time God creates something, He says that “It is good.” This phrase happens, in addition to the verse above, 6 times in the chapter.

Every time God creates something, He says it is good. There were no accidents, no mistakes. He intended to make everything He did, and He blessed it by calling it good.

There is a big debate in a number of classrooms about evolution vs. creation. People debate about how long it all took, whether it was billions of years vs. 6 days. But for me, the biggest issue I have with evolution is not the billions of years. The biggest issue is this: Evolution says that the world happened by accident; creation says that there is purpose to your life! God made you on purpose. He did not make mistakes. He is the one that gave you everything you are, and He called it good.

This is important, especially at times when you feel like things are not good in your life. Sometimes people treat you like you are no good, like you have no value. Sometimes situations happen, and we wonder if God really does have our backs. But the Bible says, everything God makes is good.

What would this do for us if we were to live everyday with this perspective, that what God made is good? What if we took time to notice the world around us, and to remind ourselves that this was no accident? How would we look at ourselves? How would we treat the people around us? How might we respond when things do not go our way? What would it be like to be drawn into a mindset of worship by noticing the beauty of every sunrise, or the fact that each snowflake is unique, or even the order and purpose of the seasons? What God made is GOOD, and He did not put anything here by accident.

Consider what one person said said: “My life would be different, because I would look at myself thinking that God made me perfect, instead of telling myself that I look ugly or that my life is not the way it should be. I would look at others by not making fun of them because God made them…in His image. Psalm 139:14 We are fearfully and wonderfully made. Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” This is what it is all about!

So the message of Genesis 1 is about Who God is, and why He made everything. He is good, and He wanted to reflect His goodness in what He made. Each person He makes reflects His goodness, and He has a purpose for their lives. This is the God who is worthy of our praise, of our admiration, and of our trust.