Regrets
Read Genesis 6:1-7.
Does God make mistakes?
That's what Genesis seems to indicate. Remember, in Genesis 1, the creation was "good" and after humanity was created it was "very good." And yet, after who knows how long (post-Adam and post-Eden), God says these stunning words: "I regret that I have made them" (6:7, the "them" being human beings). Did God make a mistake?
It is probably more fair and more Biblical to say that God took a risk. He risked gifting us with choice. Back to the garden for a moment: Adam was told to eat from any tree in the garden except one. And, in collusion with Eve and a talking serpent, he chose to do exactly what he was told not to do. (It's obvious, isn't it, that Adam was created as a teenager?) Adam had a choice from the beginning: any number of trees or the one God told him to stay away from.
Post-Eden, post-expulsion from the Garden, humanity doesn't seem to get any better. They make choices that are anti-God, against the creator. Even in the beginning of this chapter, there are these strange images of people called Nephilim and the "sons of God" who come down and impregnate the "daughters of humans." What is that all about? At the very least, it's a story of rebellion against the one true God. The human race has made choice after choice after choice after choice to go against God's design, God's plan, and to reject God's offer of a relationship. Did God make a mistake? God took a risk—and we failed him.
Take a look at our world today. Is it all that different from Noah's world? Open up the newspaper or your browser and scan the headlines. We continue to make choices that are against God, rejecting the same relationship he offered to these people of ancient times. We have so many good options, yet we continue to choose to eat from the one tree that we're told not to eat from. Thousands of years, and humanity has not changed all that much. When will we learn?
Do you ever wonder if God looks down today and says, "I regret that I have made them"? What I do know is this: one day, Jesus will come and the whole experiment will come to an end. God will remake the earth once more, this time he will make it in the way he intended from the start, and those who live there will be those who have chosen to follow him. After that day, God will no longer have to say, "I have regrets." The promise is this: "God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God" (Revelation 21:3). That's the goal: a renewal, a reversal, God putting the world to rights. All made new. No more regrets. That's the day I long for. How about you?
Does God make mistakes?
That's what Genesis seems to indicate. Remember, in Genesis 1, the creation was "good" and after humanity was created it was "very good." And yet, after who knows how long (post-Adam and post-Eden), God says these stunning words: "I regret that I have made them" (6:7, the "them" being human beings). Did God make a mistake?
It is probably more fair and more Biblical to say that God took a risk. He risked gifting us with choice. Back to the garden for a moment: Adam was told to eat from any tree in the garden except one. And, in collusion with Eve and a talking serpent, he chose to do exactly what he was told not to do. (It's obvious, isn't it, that Adam was created as a teenager?) Adam had a choice from the beginning: any number of trees or the one God told him to stay away from.
Post-Eden, post-expulsion from the Garden, humanity doesn't seem to get any better. They make choices that are anti-God, against the creator. Even in the beginning of this chapter, there are these strange images of people called Nephilim and the "sons of God" who come down and impregnate the "daughters of humans." What is that all about? At the very least, it's a story of rebellion against the one true God. The human race has made choice after choice after choice after choice to go against God's design, God's plan, and to reject God's offer of a relationship. Did God make a mistake? God took a risk—and we failed him.
Take a look at our world today. Is it all that different from Noah's world? Open up the newspaper or your browser and scan the headlines. We continue to make choices that are against God, rejecting the same relationship he offered to these people of ancient times. We have so many good options, yet we continue to choose to eat from the one tree that we're told not to eat from. Thousands of years, and humanity has not changed all that much. When will we learn?
Do you ever wonder if God looks down today and says, "I regret that I have made them"? What I do know is this: one day, Jesus will come and the whole experiment will come to an end. God will remake the earth once more, this time he will make it in the way he intended from the start, and those who live there will be those who have chosen to follow him. After that day, God will no longer have to say, "I have regrets." The promise is this: "God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God" (Revelation 21:3). That's the goal: a renewal, a reversal, God putting the world to rights. All made new. No more regrets. That's the day I long for. How about you?
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