Our Father’s Loving Design: Part 1, His Goodness Around Us

I remember spending hour upon hour of my youth looking at spiders and their webs, following columns of ants, catching snakes (sometimes poisonous!), watching birds flit from tree to tree, seeing giant clouds race across the vast Missouri sky, grabbing crawdads from behind in Buck Creek, finding baby bunnies in the blackberry patch, seeing our kitty give birth and nurse her kittens, catching frogs at the pond and making torches from the cattails there, lying at the foot of my bed to watch lightning and then listening for the thunder, sitting transfixed beneath a winter sky full of brilliant stars beyond counting, and catching bumblebees in pink, pollen-filled clover.

And that is only such a small part of the adventures and learning of my boyhood. In it all, I noticed some “beautiful design” that made me happy. When I studied the sciences, I saw this amazing order in detail. When I went to God’s Word, I understood our Father’s loving design.

Sherry and I recently had the joy of visiting friends in beautiful Montana to study the witness of God’s creation. This series on  “Our Father’s Loving Design” is a recap of some of the things I taught there about God’s design in the universe around us. Before looking at the details, let’s see the “big picture.” There are three great truths to remember:

• God is good always.
• All in the heavens and the earth reflect His design.
• All good things today are through Jesus Christ.

God Is Good Always

When you look around, it is amazing how everything works so well together. Plants provide oxygen and animals give them back carbon dioxide. Rain flows into rivers, and rivers flow back into the seas—then the waters evaporate and it all begins again. The sun is just far enough away to keep us at a happy temperature, and the moon has just enough “tug” to keep the tides ebbing and flowing.

Even though everything isn’t always “pleasant,” (mosquitos and flies and spiders do have their purpose), life is full of beauty and order. That’s because the Creator of it all is always good. When He finished putting things together, He said that He’d done a pretty good job—“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).

I John 1:5:
This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

There is absolutely no darkness in God at all. He is always good. He is not the source of sickness, disease, heartache, or want. Even the true source of evil was originally a beautiful angel of light named Lucifer (“light bearer”).

It was his pride and ego that caused him to turn from God’s light and goodness. Yet God’s goodness and love gave Satan the free will to decide his own fate. For us to be fair and honest, we cannot blame the Creator for any of the evil in this world. In Him is NO darkness at all.

James 1:17:
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness [parallagē], neither shadow of turning.

God is the source of all good things. Every perfect gift—including the perfection of the world around us—comes from above. He is the Father, the inventor, of lights. “God said, Let there be light: and there was light” (Genesis 1:3).

There is no variableness in our Creator, He is steady and sure. The Greek word used here, parallagē, gives us the English word parallax. This is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight.

Have you ever noticed how much bigger the moon appears when it is near the horizon? That is parallax. Our Father’s viewpoint doesn’t change. He always wants and provides the best for His children. There is absolutely no “shadow of turning” with Him.

The Psalmist knew that the earth was full of God’s goodness, and he wanted to sing and shout about it!

Psalms 33:1-9:
Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.
Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.
For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth.
He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.
Let all the earth fear [reverence] the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.

Our loving Father’s righteousness and judgment is seen in the goodness of the earth, the heavens, the seas, and all of His creation. The only logical response is to respect such a mighty God and stand in awe of His wonderful works.

All in the Heavens and the Earth Reflect His Design

But not every person knows or understands God’s greatness. Why? It is not because the Creator has tried to hide anything from them. For any honest observer, His majesty is clearly seen in His works. Those who are blinded have no excuse for their willful denial of such a good and kind Creator. Instead, they believe “the lie” that what they see around them came from another source.

Romans 1:19,20,25:
Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.
Who changed the truth of God into a lie [Greek: “the lie”], and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

The heavens and the earth and everything in them reflect God’s beautiful design. Sadly, such people worship the creation rather than the Creator. That is like sending a letter of thanks to your car, rather than to the company that built it.

Acts 17:24,28:
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands.
For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

Our heavenly Father made the world and everything in it. He is Lord of heaven and earth. He is the very source of our being. As we look to understand His design around us, we will better understand how we are to live and move in this magnificent home He has built for us.

All Good Things Today Are through Jesus Christ

The third great truth we must understand about our Father’s loving design is very practical and vital to our lives. Look at how simply and beautifully Jesus Christ understood the Father’s heart.

Luke 12:32:
Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Jesus addressed his followers as a tender shepherd would speak to his flock. He told them that God not only provided for them, but that the Father enjoyed, found pleasure, in giving them the kingdom. That is the good pleasure of a good Creator. The “kingdom” is spiritual—it is how we have eternal life and can claim God’s blessings and power. It is always through His Son, Jesus Christ.

I Corinthians 8:5,6:
For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)
But to us there is but one God, the Father, of [ek, out of] whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by [dia, by means of] whom are all things, and we by [dia, by means of] him.

Others may have many gods and many lords. But born-again believers have only one God—the Father. And we have only one lord—Jesus Christ. Our Father is the source of all things that are good. All of those good things are through Jesus Christ.  We have boldness and access directly to the Father by the faith of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3:12).

The subject of all things coming from the Father through Jesus Christ is so vast that we have written other blogs about it. To find these, you can look at the category “Jesus Christ” on the Blog List Page.

NEXT:  Our Father’s Loving Design: Part 2, Genesis 1 and True Science We will see how every science and study known to man is found in the opening chapters of Genesis.

AND:  Our Father’s Loving Design: Part 3, Foundational Principles