GOD HAPPY WITH THE EARTH
God’s good pleasure was expressed firstly in the creation of the earth. “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?…When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4, 7). I can find no hint in the Bible of a similar delight on the part of the angels and the morning stars when the heavens were created. Why was there this singing and shouting for joy when the foundations of the earth were laid?
To the scientists the earth is a small planet, not particularly outstanding in relation to the other heavenly bodies. To God, however, the earth is the most pleasant planet. Of course, it is also the one which gives Him the most trouble, but nonetheless His heart is for the earth. Do you love the earth? I surely do not encourage you to love the world, for that belongs to Satan; but the earth is the Lord’s and we should love it.
A Misconception about Heaven
There is a common belief among Christians that the earth is a place of suffering, but that some day we shall go to a happy place called heaven. This concept came from Buddhism, which calls this happy place the western heaven. It was Catholicism which introduced this pagan idea into Christianity.
God loves the earth. All His attention is focused on the earth, not on the heavens.
Ruling on Earth
God’s kingdom will be set up on earth, not on any other planet (Matt. 6:10; Rev. 11:15). The eternal universe will be called the new heaven and the new earth (Rev. 21:1). God’s eternal kingdom will not be on the moon, nor on Mars. The earth is where His pleasure lies, even unto eternity.
GOD HAPPY WITH MAN
If you read the first chapter of Genesis a few times, you will notice how often it says, “And God saw that it was good” (e.g., vv. 10, 12, 18, 21, 25). As He was restoring the creation those first five days, God found that it was good. However, on the sixth day, the day that man was created, “God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (v. 31). If the earth is pleasant to God, man is more pleasant. God was so happy with the man He had created that He said “very good.”
God does not say “very good” lightly. If He says only “good” on the day that I meet Him, I shall be satisfied! For Him to say “very good” indicates He felt emotional. There were plants and trees, fish and birds, beasts and cattle. As God saw man in the midst of the rest of His creation, His love toward man prompted Him to say “very good.” Man is the delight of God’s heart. God loves the earth because it was prepared for this man in whom He delights.
(Life Messages, Vol. 1 (#1-41), Chapter 33, by Witness Lee)
