“So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that is was good.” ~ Genesis 1:21
Some of us attempt to develop a mental image of whatever we think God looks like… perhaps an old man, with long, silky white hair, a long and perfectly manicured gray beard flowing from under his chin, draped with a majestic white robe. He stands gracefully behind this beautiful mahogany desk, as that of the Master Architect that He is. Piece by piece, He meticulously carves out creation. Sparing no detail whatsoever, we can even picture His enthusiasm as He begins putting the dorsal fins on each species of fish, and connecting the beautiful wings on the birds of the sky. With an amusing chuckle of brilliance, we can almost hear Him say to Himself, “Aah, Yes! That’s perfect!”
We get the sense that God is quite pleased with His handiwork. And we would be right in assuming this, as numerous times throughout the first chapter of Genesis we read that He most certainly is!
“… and God saw that it was good.”
Growing up, my father gave me chores to do around the house. Once I got old enough, one day he took me out to his shed and showed me how to start the lawn mower. I will never forget that day. Not that the other chores I had were less important.. but mowing the lawn? I was well on my way to stepping into true manhood! For my father to entrust me with such an important, not to mention potentially dangerous, task? It made me feel incredibly proud!
After I finished mowing, I stood on the front porch in total admiration of my work. The mowing lines were perfectly straight, the grass was even and lush… I felt like a million dollars! But what might my father think?
I walked into the house and told him I was finished, that he should come outside to look. He got up out of his chair and walked out to the porch with me. “Son, you did an awesome job! That looks even better than when I mow it!”
Of course, as I’ve grown older my enthusiasm to mow the lawn has lessened considerably. But all these years later, I still admire the precision of the mowed lines on my freshly-cut lawn. I take pride in how my yard looks, and it makes me feel good to know that I’ve put in a few hours of “good” work tending to the garden that God has kindly blessed me to have.
Paul reminds us in Colossians 3: 23-24, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.”
In whatever we do, it is always good to remember that we are ultimately doing it for Him.
Former Blackout Artist 