advent 2018 Advent 2020 // December 6

Advent 2020 // December 6

Advent 2020 // December 6 post thumbnail image

You Were Created Good

See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes. Ecclesiastes 7.29

As we have seen, God created the whole world perfectly. This means that in its original design the world was formed in perfection, but also operated in perfection. In the words of God, it was good.

In this we see that all of creation was good, but more specifically, human beings were good. The human race (both of them) knew nothing of sin. They were protected from every negative impact of sin by God. God made man upright.

This did not last. In your life, you have a much more complete understanding of evil than you do of good. Your natural tendency is to seek out many schemes, rather than to draw near to God as your ultimate fulfillment. But the reality is that the many schemes that you seek will not bring you back to good. The good that God created you as is only attainable through the work of Jesus Christ. He is our new standard of good: defined by His perfect life and perfect sacrifice in perfect submission to the Father.

You are not good, but this is not because God did not create you good. It is because you, like the first man and woman, have chosen to follow your own idea of good rather than the definition that we are given in relationship with God. You have decided that you can discover good without Him. But you never will. Instead, God calls you to stop scheming and submit to Him. Stop trying to be good and come to Him, because He is the only good you will ever know, and the only way you will ever know good.