Remember that phrase from Genesis? “It was very good,” that word “good” has to do with aesthetic good. It can be translated “lovely” or “beautiful.” A tree can’t be good or evil; it can only be beautiful or ugly. And God made it beautiful. Nothing about creation says that God is a tightfisted, utilitarian, bean-counting pragmatist; God is a lavish, opulent, extravagant artist, and creation is his beauty on display.
