I used to think the Bible said I was “very good.”
I used to think the Bible said I was “very good.”
Good. Tov in Hebrew. In Genesis 1, God keeps seeing the good at the end of each day of creation. And then day 6, for the first time, tov has an intensifier. It is not only tov, it is tov me’od. Very good. It’s a noticeable shift. It reads like humans are the pinnacle of creation. And if humans are so special, I must be so special.
But the text never actually says that. It does say that we are made in the image of God, and have a role to play in creation. But the very good part? That’s not about me. It’s not even about us. It’s about all of us. Everything.
“God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.” - Gen 1:31
photo credit: Greg Rakozy from Unsplash
Everything. Our modern western capitalistic minds so often miss this. Sure, everything includes me. But it is certainly not only me. Or only my family. Or only Christians. Or only my community. It’s everything.
It has always been about mutual flourishing.
40 Orchards has been around for more than 10 years now, which means Lisa and I have seen the importance of this reciprocity over and over again.
Something is missing in a circle when you are not there.
The conversations are always different because of who is in the room. There may be some Hebrew words that we talk about every time or a question that we tend to start with. But where things go? That’s determined by the people in the circle. The life experiences, perspectives, wisdom, and struggles of each person there affects all the other people there.
The passage is not very good. The teaching is not very good. The person who says the thing everyone writes down is not very good. The growth is not very good.
It’s about the mutuality of all of it. Together. Everything is very good.
But even that might not be fully true. Something is still missing. Because it’s still about the room. Everything has to include those who aren’t in the room.
If what we talk about doesn’t move into the world to make things more just and loving and whole and free, have we really moved the dial towards the very good creation this could be? What are we doing with what we are learning?
We don’t pretend to have this figured out. But we are trying.
For years at 40 Orchards, we have tried to build programs of mutuality and reciprocity. But this year, Operation Metro Surge clarified something for us. As the injustice and oppression that has been true for a long time came closer, what we had been moving towards didn't feel like enough. It was time to try something more.
We have had a cohort program since the beginning. For 10 years we pulled together people looking to expand in community, discovering who they were and what God was really like. It was mainly focused on individual expansion and growth.
This year, we are taking the mutuality and reciprocity deeper as we create the Justice & Faith Cohort. This cohort is aimed not at individual flourishing but at collective liberation. It's not just about me, it's not even just about us. It’s about all of us. Everything. And what each of us and all of us can do to restore some of that tov me’od to this place.
We hope you can step into it with that energy. To come not just because you have something to receive but because you have something to give. To come not only to expand your understanding but also to expand your impact. To come because you see that your liberation is tied up in the liberation of others.
Tov me’od takes all of us.
Interested? Here are some next steps you can take:
Explore the Justice and Faith Cohort. Learn more here.
Come to the cohort info night on August 19 to get your questions answered. Register here.
Meet with Steph or Lisa to chat about whether this is a fit. Email us here.
Jump right in and apply for the cohort. Apply here.
