God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. – Genesis 1:31

Today's Scripture Reading (June 19, 2021): Genesis 1

I love summer. I know that I am not alone, but I also know that many don't agree with me; others love the unmatched beauty of fall, the emergence of life that happens every spring, or even the fresh but harsh reality that is winter. But I love summer—almost every part of it. I love sitting under a tree or on a beach beside a lake on a hot summer day. I love to ride a bike or even go for a walk on a bright summer afternoon. The heat doesn't usually bother me, although, admittedly, I live in a part of the world where extreme heat is relatively rare. I love summer.

But there is something that I don't enjoy about summer; the bugs, especially the ones that bite and sting. One of the fun questions that I have to put to God is a simple one, I get the existence, and benefit of bees, even if I am allergic to them and don't enjoy having them around. But what exactly was the idea behind a mosquito.

God comes to the end of creation, and he looks over all that he has made. He sees man, his crowning achievement. God sees the beasts that rule the field and the gentler animals that serve. He acknowledges both the big and small and the creatures that roam the earth as well as the creatures that fly through the air and swim through the water. The size of creation and the sheer number of the created beings is beyond our imagination.

Then God considers the plants, both those worthy of being eaten, as well as those that are only good for their beauty, and some that were good for neither purpose. But his examination didn't stop there. God lifted his eyes up and considered the sun that hung in the sky during the day and the moon and stars that looked down on the earth at night.

 And when God had considered everything that he had created, even the horrible mosquitoes that threaten my beloved summer, he decided that it was very good. But the question that arises out of the pronouncement is what exactly did that mean. Some have argued that it was good because everywhere that God looked, there was no death or decay. But I remain unconvinced. Death is not necessarily bad; after all, it is part of the cycle of life. Death and decay become the food for the healthy life that will emerge tomorrow. If there were no death on the earth, the health of the planet would suffer.

No, it wasn't the absence of death that made what had been created good. It was how all of the pieces fit together, serving each other, and creating something that goes far beyond the individual parts. Everything in creation, including the sun and moon, had a critical impact on how life functions on the earth. It is the way that the puzzle pieces fit together that makes creation good.

And it also heightens the danger presented to the earth by the crowning moment of God's creation, the creation of us. Unlike other elements of God's very good creation, humans tend to upset the balance. True environmentalism is not about the cessation of the use of fossil fuels or the recycling of the things that we use in our lives. Environmentalism, at its core, is about maintaining the balance of God, which is why we do those things. Environmentalism is all about our creation care, making sure that God's creation remains very good.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Genesis 2