God's Generous Creation of Humanity
Daily Scripture
Genesis 1:26-31, 2:4-9
Genesis 1
26 Then God said, “Let us make humanity in our image to resemble us so that they may take charge of the fish of the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and all the crawling things on earth.”
27 God created humanity in God’s own image,
in the divine image God created them,
male and female God created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and master it. Take charge of the fish of the sea, the birds in the sky, and everything crawling on the ground.” 29 Then God said, “I now give to you all the plants on the earth that yield seeds and all the trees whose fruit produces its seeds within it. These will be your food. 30 To all wildlife, to all the birds in the sky, and to everything crawling on the ground—to everything that breathes—I give all the green grasses for food.” And that’s what happened. 31 God saw everything he had made: it was supremely good.
There was evening and there was morning: the sixth day.
Genesis 2
4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
On the day the LORD God made earth and sky— 5 before any wild plants appeared on the earth, and before any field crops grew, because the LORD God hadn’t yet sent rain on the earth and there was still no human being to farm the fertile land, 6 though a stream rose from the earth and watered all of the fertile land— 7 the LORD God formed the human from the topsoil of the fertile land and blew life’s breath into his nostrils. The human came to life. 8 The LORD God planted a garden in Eden in the east and put there the human he had formed. 9 In the fertile land, the LORD God grew every beautiful tree with edible fruit, and also he grew the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Genesis said humans are not a random accident, but the result of a generous Creator. The creation stories of the Mesopotamian countries around Israel pictured terrifying, selfish gods who fought one another and created human beings to be their slaves. But in both Genesis creation stories, God created human beings in God’s own image, and generously, lovingly gave them the gift of life and all that they needed to sustain that life and thrive.
- Genesis’ first creation story, pictured God creating humans at the end of the process and saying to them, “I now give to you…” a variety of food, essential to sustain life. What things or people has God generously worked through to nurture and nourish you? To whom might God call you to be an expression of God’s generosity, offering insight or healing from life’s wounds?
- The second creation story showed God making the human first, and then generously creating a garden in which to thrive. If we read Genesis 2 as scientific history, it would conflict with Genesis 1. “In Genesis 2… one human (“the man,” a.k.a. Adam) is created before vegetation (2:5–9) and before the animals, which Adam names (2:19–20).” * How did this second story teach lessons about the way humans relate to God and one another?
Prayer
Lord God, thank you for the world you generously created for me to enjoy. As science keeps expanding our grasp of how things work, let my faith rejoice in your creative generosity as the source of everything. Amen.
GPS Insights
Katy Nall
Katy Nall, who serves as the Program Director of Missions for Resurrection West, wrote today's Insights. She is a mom of two and loves to be outside in the sunshine, especially if it involves mountains or ocean. She loves hiking, reading, learning, and connecting.
In September, my family was moving out of company-owned housing from my husband’s previous job. The company who owned our home accidentally entered before we were fully out. They had mixed up the dates. In their attempt to clear the property, they threw away a massive amount of our things. Some of it was replaceable. Annoying, sure—but fine.
But some of it was deeply irreplaceable. Treasure. My entire hallway gallery of many years’ worth of my kid’s artwork and family photos. From preschool masterpieces to the wild imagination of my 6-year-old who loved drawing dragons in big castles to my daughter’s theater cast posters from the last couple of years. When I saw them crumpled, torn, and in piles like trash, I sobbed.
Those pieces are gone. Permanently. Not because we cleaned out our lives intentionally—but because someone else, without knowing, discarded fragments of our story. I felt it in my chest. The ache and shock of it was overwhelming. Those things had been lovingly curated inside our home. They reminded me of seasons of growth, of delight, of tiny human imaginations. They represented our family becoming.
The Scripture today reminded me that we collect and curate not because we are materialistic or self-important, but because we are made in the image of a God who curated and called it GOOD! Genesis 1 and 2 are shockingly generous compared to every creation story around them in that ancient world. Most cultures pictured gods who were violent and demanding—gods who created humans to serve them because they needed something from them. But in Genesis? God lacks nothing. God creates—and then God gives.
“I now give to you…”
That is the first relational posture God takes toward humankind. The image of God isn’t power or dominion or control. The image of God is generosity. God gives. God blesses. God releases. God shares. So even though those pieces from my kid’s childhood are gone, and even though that loss was real—generosity is not lost with them. My identity, my family, my memories aren’t contained in the objects. They were expressed in them. And that expression can continue forward.
This week—where is one place we can intentionally give something away freely? Can we give time? Money? Encouragement? Presence? Hospitality? Kindness? Where can we choose to resemble our generous Creator? How can we let love flow THROUGH us instead of trying to preserve perfection AROUND us? We were not created to serve a demanding god. We were created to mirror a God who delights in giving GOOD things!
© 2025 Resurrection: A United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Enns, Peter; Byas, Jared, Genesis for Normal People (Second Edition w/ Study Guide) (p. 31). The Bible for Normal People. Kindle Edition.
