A Generous Soul

"then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature."

Genesis 2:7

What is God like to you?

I enjoy being able to look at the beginning of man to see a better picture of God's character and how He treats us. That's why Genesis 2:7 is important. From the very beginning, man was nothing. He wasn't even a lump of dust at that point. That would come soon, but it was not yet. Man had nothing that he could contribute to his own account or ability. He was, literally, nothing.

"Then the LORD God..." Do you see the word "then" here? It suggests that since something was first true, that something else would occur. Since man did not yet exist in any form... Since God had a plan to create man... Since God works to execute his plans... Since those things were true, then the creation of man could occur. So that is what God did. He formed the man's physical being out of the dust; a true miracle of itself.

Once the dust was formed into the shape of the man, God continued his great work and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Since the man had no life before then, he couldn't inhale that breath from God. God would have to force the breath of life into the man. Do you see something special here? God did all the work here. He made the breath to go into the man. Only then did the man have any strength or life to inhale from the air. Truly, the man would be continuing to work with God who still enabled him to breathe and live. The man doesn't live because of what he does by himself. He is still utterly dependent upon the LORD God.

From this picture, we see how God has been generous to us. We didn't deserve anything. We had no life prior to this point. Yet, God gave to us. He was generous to us. He gave more than we were able to receive.

As a follower of Jesus Christ, we must remember this picture. The Genesis account later shows us how God made us "in his image" or in his likeness. We must first remember that the initial part of man's creation was a vivid reminder of how God is very generous. So, we must also be very generous. We must bless and give to others. It is part of how we reveal God's character.

Whether a follower of Jesus considers their life to be a missionary life or not, we are to convey the attributes of God that He instills into us. We have been richly blessed, so we bless others. We have been deeply loved, so we love others. We do this in His name too because it isn't of our own origination or creativity. He blessed us first, before we ever blessed others. He deserves credit and praise!

That is the goal of a missionary life. Do these things so that God will be praised.