It was Very Good
Somebody said that if God were truly scientific, he would have written the Book of Genesis as a scientific formula. Maybe, but it would create a dilemma. Unless we all held doctorates in science we could not understand anything about it. It would be a closed book to most of the world.
Scripture is written to be understood by even the most simple of us and a scientific formula could never be so transparent. Even worse, a scientific formula could never define relationships because a scientific formula is like the law – one slip and you’re wrong. Throw the whole calculation into the scrap bin because it is useless if you miss the mark.
So God peopled creation on his agreement with himself instead of on law so that when we got the formula wrong, we could be redeemed from the scrap bin.
It is why the first chapters of Genesis are the foundation of all Scripture, based on the fact that God said his whole creation was ‘very good.’ – for the word ‘good’ means lovely, sweet, gracious and bountiful.
Scientific calculations can be right or wrong, they cannot be lovely, sweet, gracious or bountiful.
God’s agreement is simply this: ‘Let us make man in our image to have dominion over …’ (Genesis 1:26). He did that, but Adam added the identity of rebellion into the formula and messed up his honorary title.
So God sent Jesus, ‘who is the image of God.’ The agreement has been restored and he counts us as in it because
‘if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation,’ 2nd Corinthians 4:4 and 5:17.
I don’t know of any better news, do you?
Elizabeth Price,
Team writer with Just a Minute