God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness. . . .”

— Genesis 1:25-26

Imagine an artist who works hard at a sculpture day after day. Often she’ll stand back to look at her work, and if she’s not satisfied with how it looks, she’ll keep working on the sculpture. When she’s happy and proud of what she’s completed, she’ll say that the work is good. She’ll look on it with satisfaction and joy.

When Genesis 1 speaks of God creating the heavens and the earth, it does so by describing a pattern of six days. And several times in the process we read, “God saw that it was good.” God took joy and satisfaction in the things he created. God saw that the world was good and beautiful.

God made the world to be beautiful: the light, the sky, the land, the sun, the fish, the animals. God called all of these things “good.” And when God created human beings, God created them in his own image. Men and women are all created in the image of God, beautiful like their creator.

If you are ever tempted to doubt your own worth as a person, remember that the creator of the universe made you in his own image. Remember that God looks on his beautiful creation, including you, and calls you “good” and beautiful.

Creator God, thank you for making a good world and for making us in your own image. Help us to recognize your beautiful image in others and in ourselves. Amen.