The Story of God: The Good Life

The Good Life… My guess is that we all have a picture of what that might be. For some, the Good Life is like what I have pictured here: you and your spouse together on a secluded beach, enjoying each other’s company, taking an occasional dip in the surf, soaking up the sun and the beauty of the sea. This is what Becky and I did five years ago in Cancun, as we celebrated 25 years of marriage. For others of you, the good life might just be what you have here at Robson: a beautiful home in a friendly community where you get to enjoy pickle ball, golf, and swimming all under the warmth of the Arizona sun. For others it’s taking the time to soak in the beauty of our world, whether it’s discovering the wonders of Sedona or the Vermillion Cliffs; or going on a Caribbean Cruise or just gazing at the stars as you and your spouse cuddle up around your own little fire pit. The Good Life… I think we all have good idea of what that might be for each of us. Your idea might be a little different than mine, but at the end of the day, we want pretty much the same things: to be surrounded by family and friends in a warm and beautiful place, with the freedom to pursue whatever our heart’s desire, and to simply enjoy this life God has given us.

The Good Life! But have you ever stopped to consider why this desire to enjoy a heaven on earth existence resides in your heart? Well, the answer is found in our text today. Because it is what God had in mind when he created life. Another way of saying it is The Good Life is Life as the way God intended it to be when he first created us.  This now is the Pattern of the Kingdom:

Rest: By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. Genesis 2:2-3  God rested from His work. Now, don’t get the idea that God was worn out from all His creating work.  God did cease from working. But rest is more than just stopping.   The idea is that God ceased His work so He could enter into and enjoy what He created. Upon observing and announcing that it was all very good, now “God was pausing to delight in His works.”

This is what rest is about, what Sabbath is about. I love how Professor Marva Dawn puts it: “Sabbath is not an escape, its not a day off, it’s a day for. Sabbath is where we end and let God fill up.” This is what’s at the heart of the good life. This is what God created us for. Not to simply take a break from work, but to take a break from the forces that work to steal from our souls.

Life: Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Genesis 2:7   When God created us He put in us the capacity for good, for reasoning, for creating and for loving both God and our fellow humans. And this all the result of God breathing life into us. Which tells us a few things about the life we now live.

First, it tells us that life is a gift of God. Life has its source in God. Without the breath of life from God there is no life, our bodies cannot function and we cannot relate with God nor He with us. It is His breath that makes living beings.

Second, it tells us that life is meant to be lived! When God created us, His desire was that we would be fully alive. He put in us appetites for food, sex, adventure and joy. He put in us this desire to seize the day, grab life by the throat and drink it dry. There’s a reason your heartbeat quickens when you fall in love. There’s a reason why we have drives for success, why we want to surround ourselves with good things, why we work hard for the good life: God put His life in us so we would be fully alive.

Place: Genesis 2:8-14  Here are three observations about the garden of Eden, the original place God created for us to do life with Him. The first observation is that The Garden was a safe place: By the very use of the term “garden” we get this picture that the environment where God placed man was an enclosed and protected area.  What really makes it a safe place then is not the garden walls per se, but God’s presence. With God’s presence, Adam could say, “The Lord is my protector, I shall not fear.” With God there is safety. In a relationship with Him there is no worry of harm, nothing to fear. This is how God meant life to be.

Second, the Garden was a nourishing place: And the Lord God made all kinds of trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food (verse 9) In this environment Adam could say, “The Lord is my provider, I shall not want.” He had no worry for provision. This is important to note, in that after the man was banished from the garden WORK would take on new meaning. At that time, man would have to strive to produce food to sustain his life. But in the beginning it was not that way. He had all he needed. And as such he experienced God’s generous and loving care. He was literally free of worry.

The third observation is that The Garden was a beautiful place: The garden was both aesthetically pleasing and practical. It was good for food and delightful to the eye. God had made a good place for Adam to enjoy, a place where he could thrive and live with contentment and meaning. In this beautiful garden Adam could say, “The Lord is my artist, for He has giving life meaning.”

Put these three things together: a safe place, a nourishing place and a beautiful place and you have three of the most basic needs of life: food, shelter and meaning.

Work: The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. Genesis 2:15   This goes back to the responsibility God gave us to steward this planet that we looked at last week. For Adam, this meant taking care of the garden God had ENTRUSTED to him. This was God’s garden. Here then, Adam’s work was actually a sacred work. It was a service to God. This was a work of privilege and pleasure. Now like God, Adam could bring form and order to his place; and experience joy and satisfaction from his work.

Work in the beginning was meant to be fulfilling. Work in our day has lost much of its original intent. Now work serves in more of a utilitarian way: as a means of attaining benefits for life; as a means of paying the mortgage, putting food on the table, purchasing goods and services for ourselves. It’s lost it’s original intent as a creative outlet and a service unto God.

Freedom: And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Genesis 2:16-17  Here now is the final part of the pattern of life with God. Here again is the definition for the Kingdom of God: “God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule and blessing.” It is here where God’s rule comes in. And it’s here where God often gets a bad rap. Somehow the message out there is that God is a killjoy, and live with him is stifling and no fun, especially no freedom. But here’s the truth. When God set up this thing called life, he gave man free fun of the place. Everything God created was given to man to enjoy. God had only one rule. ONLY ONE RULE! He set up one boundary line not to cross. Just one. You can have it all but the tree at the center of the garden.

In other words, God puts himself in the center of man’s world. And if God is in the center, then man cannot be. So God put this tree in the center of His garden and gave His creation one rule. Why? God needed to put this tree in the garden as a test of trust. Would the man trust God? Would the man see all the goodness and life God gave him and be thankful? Would the man see all the beauty and freedom God gave and simply enjoy it? Or would the man refuse to see that God had his best interests at heart and refuse to trust him by taking matters into his own hands?

This is the ultimate question behind the good life… and the God who gives us safety, nourishment and meaning. It’s the question behind the God who gives us work to fulfill us, beauty to thrill us and rest to refuel us.  And it’s the question behind the God who gives us this life. Do we trust that God is good? Do we trust that He has our best interests at heart?

Freedom within boundaries; that’s the freedom God gives us. You can choose to trust that He is good, keep His Word central to your life, or you can trust that you know what best for you. All of life comes back to this. Even the life you choose to live today. This is why every single person is part of God’s Story. It all goes back to what God did when He gave man and woman the good life in the garden. And it all comes down to where you believe the good life is found: In a life with God or a life apart from God. This is the tension in our story.