318 - believeI learned something in church this morning that really blessed me. So besides counting it, I wanted to share it. Genesis 1:31 says, "God saw all that He had made, and it was very good." The Hebrew translation for the word "good" used here is the word "tob". Tob doesn't just mean good, it means gooder than good. It means VERY good, choice, charming, pure, worthy, pleasing, desirable.
So, this means when God looks at you and me, He says, "tob". Amazing. Humbling. He said it even though He knew the end from the beginning, and everything in between!!
Today I'm challenged to live it, to see that blessing, that proclamation, that godly likeness in myself--and live accordingly. To see it in the face of my neighbor and love accordingly. What would the world look like if we really believed it?
Joining Ann today
18 comments:
oh jodi.... this is exactly what i needed to hear. ((thank you beautiful friend))
This was hard for me to express rightly, so thank you, Em, for getting it. <3
oh i love this jodi. yes. i will carry this with me this week. thank you.
Dear Jodi, This is such a healing message. Thank you for passing it on to all your readers. We need to hear this. We need to believe this. It makes us all stronger to share this reality, to live in it all the time.
Tob, friend. This was gooder than good. Thanks.
Oh! Something new to learn, and something encouraging.
It makes me think of two things.
In my second year at university, one of our teachers used first few chapters of Genesis as an exercise in reading and understanding, and he said something that I find very encouraging - that the image of the perfect creation at the beginning is an image of what we can be like, something to hold hopes for, and lie our hopes in. It was quite a revelation to me. (I had two such moments with him. I suppose that's because his way of thinking is similar to mine - although certainly much better and more learned - so it really hits home with me.)
And the second is a passage from a short Good Omens fanfic. Good Omens itself is a rather crazy book, but some of the fanfics out there are really nice and put it into perspective. :-) The passage in question goes like this: "In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and everything that went with them, and he saw it as a job well done. It was the first – and probably only – time in the history of all of creation that a Maker had actually thought that without the inevitable 'but this could do with a little work'. No, for the first (and only) time, it was actually Good."
I think that ties in well with what you've shared with us. We're used to "good" with "but this could do with a little work". The Genesis text reminds us that God's creation was really Good.
Eeek, sorry for that overlong comment! It didn't seem so in the box!
Dear Hana, you can be as long as you like! I appreciated every word.
this was just what i needed today - someone telling me, i'm loved...thanks for this jodi..
It would be wonderful if we really believed it! What an important perspective. VERY Good:)
So nice to connect with you here in the blog world.
Gooder than good--yes! And believe is my word for the year. Good stuff here. I want you to come to my house and draw things on my chalkboard. If I ever get a chalkboard.
This is something I'm really trying to absorb lately. I really WANT to believe it. I need to believe this. Thanks for sharing this!
This is lovely. You should re-post it every week...
this made me cry... in a good way. thank you, friend.
This is exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you for sharing it!
Oh! I love this! tob to you, friend. Tob.
oh.
noted. bookmarked. written on my soul.
thank you. thank you.
I love the chalkboard!!!! It is so pretty.
Mary Drennen
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