Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 02, Chapter 09, Text 19

SB 2.9.19

tam priyamanam samupasthitam kavim
praja-visarge nija-sasanarhanam
babhasa isat-smita-socisa gira
priyah priyam prita-manah kare sprsan
 
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada: 
 
And seeing Brahma present before Him, the Lord accepted him as worthy to create living beings, to be controlled as He desired, and thus being much satisfied with him, the Lord shook hands with Brahma and, slightly smiling, addressed him thus.
 
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada: 
 
The creation of the material world is not blind or accidental. The living entities who are ever conditioned, or nitya-baddha, are thus given a chance for liberation under the guidance of His own representative like Brahma. The Lord instructs Brahma in Vedic knowledge in order to diffuse this knowledge to the conditioned souls. The conditioned souls are forgetful souls in their relationship with the Lord, and thus a period of creation and the process of dissemination of Vedic knowledge are necessary activities of the Lord. Lord Brahma has a great responsibility in delivering the conditioned souls, and therefore he is very dear to the Lord.
 
Brahma also does his duty very perfectly, not only by generating the living entities but also by spreading his party for reclaiming the fallen souls. The party is called the Brahma sampradaya, and any member of this party to date is naturally engaged in reclaiming the fallen souls back to Godhead, back home. The Lord is very much anxious to get back His parts and parcels, as stated in the Bhagavad-gita. No one is more dear than the one who takes the task of reclaiming the fallen souls back to Godhead.
 
There are many renegades from the Brahma sampradaya whose only business is to make men more forgetful of the Lord and thus entangle them more and more in material existence. Such persons are never dear to the Lord, and the Lord sends them deeper into the darkest region of matter so that such envious demons may not be able to know the Supreme Lord.
 
Anyone, however, preaching the mission of the Lord in the line of the Brahma sampradaya is always dear to the Lord, and the Lord, being satisfied with such a preacher of the authorized bhakti cult, shakes hands with him in great satisfaction.
Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 02, Chapter 09, Text 18
Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 02, Chapter 09, Text 20