TEXT: Genesis 1:29-31; 2:1-2

Six days of creation were finished. On the seventh day, God rested. The work was all done.

God set a good example for us when He rested from His work. It is important for us to take some quiet time to think about God. That is why Christians call Sunday a day of rest. On that day we especially remember all the good things God has done for us. We think about the beautiful world He made for us. We think about how happy He makes us inside. It is a good time for us to thank Him.

On that first day of rest, don’t you suppose God smiled as He looked around at His creation? Everything about it was perfect. Perhaps He sat down somewhere and looked out over the towering green trees and bright flowers, to the high mountains and sparkling rivers. Maybe a tiny kitten played at His feet. Perhaps a fuzzy bear wandered through the forest nearby. Maybe a butterfly flew about in the bright sunshine. That must have been a very happy day for God. God loved all the things He had created. Most of all, God loved man, for He had made man in His image.

Do you remember that the first people God made were named Adam and Eve? God wanted them to know just how much He loved them. So God made a beautiful garden in a place He called Eden. It was filled with the best of His creation. That was to be Adam and Eve’s home. Adam and Eve must have enjoyed the beauty all around them. They were happy and peaceful in their lovely garden home.

Best of all, in the cool of the day God would come down to walk and talk with them. How wonderful that must have been! Just imagine them strolling through the garden with God beside them. Maybe the animals even followed them around. The birds probably sang their very sweetest songs when God was nearby. What a happy time!

Would you like to see God and be able to talk with Him? Someday you will be able to do just that. God has promised to make new heavens and a new earth for those who love and serve Him. It will be even more wonderful than the Garden of Eden. Once again everything will be perfect. We will be able to walk and talk with God like Adam and Eve did. He will be our best Friend forever and ever!

PARENT’S CORNER

The sense of touch is especially important to children. This week, use that sense to review the past four lessons.

Plan some adventures in feeling. Give your child a piece of bread dough to knead. As you work together, talk about how God made the seeds of wheat, and how He sends the sun and rain to help plants grow.

Give your child a piece of wood to sand, letting him get the feel of the wood while you remind him that God created the trees.

Feel the softness of a kitten’s fur, the grittiness of sand, the smoothness of water sliding over the hands. All of these “feeling” experiences can reinforce the child’s wonder at the endless variety of God’s creation.

FAMILY DEVOTIONS