It is good...

Folks,

i missed last week, intentionally, because i wanted to see if anyone would notice. And one did. I often lament over all the work that goes into this blog, wondering if anyone really takes it seriously, and God answered my question. That being said, i will continue to post and pray that the rest of our congregation begins to ad some input and ideas to our message.

Let's dive into Sunday, shall we? Over the next year and on, i am approaching Sunday's message differently. I have often used the lectionary as a guide to seeking a Scripture for Sunday, and it has worked, well. But the reality is, without the lectionary or this blog, most people will have no idea what coming Scripture focuses will be, until now. I am going to do something new and challenging, but i sense it will push all of us deeper into the Bible, or at least that is my hope.

Starting Sunday, with Genesis chapter one, i will go through an entire book, one chapter at a time, before i move onto a different book. This Sunday is chapter one. Next Sunday we will study chapter two. And so on and so on. I will use the entire chapter, per Sunday, so that each and everyone of us can read the Scripture ahead of time and be ready with our own thoughts about the text. I feel this will do, at least, two different things. It will, i hope, push all of us into Scripture, studying it and letting the truth of God's word to guide us and mold us. But, i pray, it will also lead us to ad our own thoughts and ideas to the message, thus creating one communal message that represents who we are as a body. And oh yeah, when we have our small groups, which is in the process of being formed, the Scripture focus can and will be one of the lessons the small groups discuss. I see only good things emerging from this, and i cant wait to experience what God can do through us.

And now, to our message for Sunday. It is the Creation Narrative from Genesis chapter one. We all know it. We all have heard it. And, i am sure, most of us could, within reason, paraphrase the entire chapter. It is that familiar to us, which is a good thing. There is so much a community could do with this text. We could talk about God created all things, and we could dive into the creation/evolution debate. But i dont know if that serves any great purpose. We could talk about how God spent time creating humanity, which is key, but that could also be a topic for another discussion. Or we could talk about how God created humans to rule over the creation, but i dont know if that benefits anyone at this point.

However, if after you read the text, you find yourself moved to focus on those points, please add your comments to the of this blog. We will only grow and mature when all people add their voice to the story of our church family. Which leads me to my understanding and motivation for this text. After reading the Creation Narrative, i get a real sense that God intended His Created and all that comes with it, to be viewed as good. In other words, if God took the time to create, as i believe He did, anything and everything, than all that God created is good. The sun good. The earth good. The seas good. The rivers good. Birds, fish, cows, sheep, Adam, and Eve, all are good, because all were made by an artist with masterful hands.

So if God sees and believes it all to be good, what does that mean for us? How do we treat a masterpiece of art? Do we abuse it? Destroy it? Make sure future generations have to witness and enjoy the art from a cage or a zoo? Or do we take the masterpiece, lock it up, and make sure it can only be observed from a museum for things that existed long ago? What does it mean, brothers and sisters, to honor something that is good?

Have you ever created something, a meal, a painting, a garden, or even a child, and stood back and taken a deep breath and realized, "It is good?" If you have, than you have a glimpse into the mindset and love God has for His created. But, family, how did you respond to that work of art? Did you protect it? Hide it? Destroy it? Or did you use it all up, so that none can enjoy it? Did you put it away in a museum so it is safe but never experienced? When we have created something good, how do we treat said piece of art?

When i think about things i have created in the past, whether a garden, a batch of cookies, a house, or a son, i find that it is only beautiful, truly good, when i enjoy every moment i have with that masterpiece. I have to care for the garden or it will go to waste and no fruit will be had. I have to make sure there is balance and proper ingredients in the cookies or they will taste bad, not rise correctly, but then after they are finished i must cherish each bite. But i can't eat them all at once, it is too much good, too much beauty. I must take my time with the cookies. As far as the house, i have to keep it clean, protect it from things unsightly that look to devour it, but truly a house is only a house if it is lived in and enjoyed. And as for my son, whom God allowed me to have a hand in creating, with Him, i have enjoyed every second i have, even the trying ones. But i must protect him. Care for him. Help him become a responsible adult and a child of God. However, protecting him and caring for him, doesn't mean sheltering and storing him under the staircase. I have to let him go out and experience life and make mistakes and get hurt, because then and only then will he know that life is beautiful and painful.

And i think God approaches it the same way with us. God views us as good, but God also stands back and lets us feel pain, make mistakes, and find those valleys that are oppressive, knowing, as only God can, that there are mountaintops waiting to be climbed and enjoyed. That's, i sense, how God views us. But we, brothers and sisters, must also care for that which is good. We must care for our bodies. We must keep the animals in a balance. We must treat God's creation, our earth, with care and responsibility. We complain about leaving a huge debt for our children and our grandchildren, financial debt that is, but what happens when we leave them an earth that is beyond repair? Doesn't that make any financial burdens pale in comparison? We must ensure, i feel, that God's creation be available and enjoyed by many generations yet to come, because God created the earth to be good, and i believe it still is.

Any artist finds themselves taking a step back and staring, in wonder, at what they have created. Then they must entrust that creation into the hands of others, hoping that those persons will care, treat, and appreciate the masterpiece as much as the master themselves. Are we doing that with God's created? The good news is, if we aren't, is that we can begin today. We can stand, with God and each other, and stare at the canvas of God's Creation and say, in unison, it is good. But then we must live it as well.

What are your thoughts? Amen.