God of Creation

Throughout God's instruction to His people, one idea keeps circling back: rest. 

When we hear that word, we often think about God's command for us to rest on the Sabbath, to not do any work, to not make anyone else do any work, and to trust in His provision. And that's certainly part of it. 

But God makes clear that His rest is not just for us; it's for all of creation. 

We rest on the Sabbath because the land, too, needs a rest. The land needs a day when it is not worked. the animals need a day when we are not getting in their way. The air needs a day to circulate around us, to get into all the crannies of the world that we chase it away from with the forces of our just being human in that shared space. 

We rest in the seventh year because the land needs a year to lay fallow. The trees need a year to mature their fruit in their own time. The fields need a year in which they are not plowed, not torn up, not tossed. The birds need a year when they are free to nest wherever they desire, without fear of displacement or disruption. 

We rest in the Jubilee year and return everything to where it once came from because creation needs restored. Because all things need put back into their place and allowed to settle there. Because we need reminded that though, yes, we've been sent to tend the earth, there's a big difference between tending and dominating. And between providing for ourselves and being provided for. 

When God saw the Sabbath, when God saw rest, He saw that it was "very good" - not just for man. There is absolutely nothing in the Bible that tells us that rest was created just for us or that it is good only for us, except for the self-interested, egotistical reading that we too often bring to the Scriptures. No, every time - every single time - that we are told about rest, we are reminded that rest is "very good" for everything, for all of creation. 

God, from the very beginning, has not just been taking care of us; He's been taking care of all of His creation. 

It's a good reminder for all of us who are tempted to be self-centered about His goodness. It's not just for us. It never has been. It's always been for more. 

What if you could see more of what God's goodness is doing? What if you could see His goodness beyond your own mirror?