In the beginning of creation, when God created Adam and Eve, he was aware of the good sides, bad sides, and ugly sides that they would soon show. It didn’t take long before their good, turned into bad, and their bad turned into ugly. Adam and Eve’s relationship with God and with each other started off good. In fact, it was perfect. Adam spent time with God on a daily basis; he had Him all to himself and shared an intimacy with Him that no one has ever had. The bad came to pass when Adam and Eve gave into temptation and ate of a tree God specifically directed them not to. This resulted in them being not only aware, but ashamed of their nakedness and led them to truly understand their separation from God. Not only did their bad cause them to be banished from the Garden of Eden, but they had to fend for themselves, and the ground from then on out was cursed. Their ugliness manifested through their children, Cain and Abel. Cain killed his brother out of jealousy when his sacrifice to God wasn’t accepted. Within the first few chapters of the Bible, and the stories that come after it, humans display characteristics that have translated into the ways we behave today. And throughout each of those stories, God remains faithful and accepting to those who choose to seek and follow Him.
Despite us being in the last and evil days, I’d like to believe there is more good in the world than bad. It’s easy to ignore the good things in life because we’ve been so conditioned to focus on the negativity. The Bible talks about how every good gift and perfect thing comes from above, meaning that all good in the world, comes from having God within us. God sees the good in our hearts and is pleased with us. He also loves us enough to give us a choice between good and bad and is delighted in us when we choose obedience. Goodness and kindness is a display of gratefulness to our Heavenly Father. I remember hearing the quote, the only thing that we can give God is our worship. What many people don’t realize is that our worship to God is more than lifting our hands while singing God’s praises. We worship God in our actions and our choices, representing all the good that He is with the virtue we embody.
Though things were good in the beginning, the bad and ugly in our lives is a result of the first sin. I talked briefly about the choice God gives us between good and evil. We were created to be God’s companions, but in order to be true companions, it couldn’t be forced. It had to be a decision that we’d make and commit to. With this choice, some people make the decision not to follow God, and even in those wrong choices, God remains faithful. Because his love is unconditional, we remain cherished no matter what decisions we make. God’s love is consistent even when we are not, and God is good even in our bad.
Psalms 139:11-12: If I say “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
