God's Plan for Optimal Health and Happiness
What Genesis Teaches about His Purpose for People
Dec 21, 2008
Many truths about God’s intended relationship between Himself and humanity, His intentions for human relationships, and His will for human relationships with the rest of God’s creations can be learned from a study of the first two chapters of Genesis.
1. Created in God’s Likeness. God said to His Son, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Genesis 1: 26. Unlike anything else in all Creation, people were created in the likeness of God. So, what is God like? “God is love.” 1 John 4:8 The Bible teaches that people are to love as God loved: unselfishly, sacrificially. This is what it means to be like God.
2. Direct Contact with Man. In Genesis 1, God spoke all created things into existence, except for man. God had direct contact with man when He created Adam. “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Genesis 2:7 From the very beginning, God wanted to have a relationship with His people. It is apparent that while Adam and Eve were in the garden, God was in close communion with the couple. “And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.” Genesis 3:8 The entire Bible focuses on the theme of God’s plan to restore His relationship with humanity.
3. God Instituted Marriage between a Man and a Woman. “God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.” Genesis 1:28 A loving relationship between a man and woman and their children is the fulfillment of God’s plan for humanity’s best good.
4. Man’s Relationship to the Rest of Creation. “God said unto them…replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” God put the man and woman in charge of His creation. It was not His intention that humanity use up the earth’s resources and destroy it. (See Revelation 11:18.) People were set as stewards of creation, to care for the earth in God’s place.
5. God’s Appointed Food. God gave Adam and Eve the best food He had created to ensure their optimal health. “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” Genesis 1:29 Interestingly, today science is showing that a plant-based diet is still the best diet for longevity and good health. (For instance, see National Geographic’s November 2005 special issue on longevity.)
6. God’s Appointed Rest. “And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it.” Genesis 2:3 God created the Sabbath to ensure that people would have time for worship and renewal. It would be a time for humanity to reflect upon the goodness of their Creator God. Since it was instituted at Creation, it was given to all of humanity, not just the Jews, who came much later. The institution of the Sabbath also predates the Ten Commandments. In addition, God’s special anointing of the Sabbath was specific to the seventh day.
It seems reasonable that God’s original plan for humanity is still the best. His will for His people is still optimal health and happiness. (See Malachi 3:6.)
