Serve and protect God's creation

 

Reflection 26^th September 2021

 

I don’t know about you but during this last 18 months I’ve valued time with nature more than ever before. Whether that’s been in the garden watching bees and butterflies, or hearing bird song, robins, blackbirds and even an owl. At dusk watching bats flitting around. And, on those occasions when we’ve ventured further afield, we’ve seen hares and birds such as egrets. Even as I wrote this I am looking out of my window and saw two wonderful spiders’ webs on a bush outside.

These moments with nature have been precious. And they have made me feel more and more strongly of the need for us, as God’s people, to be speaking out more loudly about the need to care for God’s planet. For that is our understanding of this world. God who created this planet has lent it to us to care for and nurture.

In Genesis 2:15 we hear that

¹⁵ The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. NIV

But the Hebrew can be translated differently. It could be translated as “God put the man in the Garden of Eden to serve and protect it.” The Contemporary English translation captures this well:

¹⁵ The Lord God put the man in the Garden of Eden to take care of it and to look after it. CEV

When we think that way, that we are you to serve and protect this planet on God’s behalf, we get a clear understanding that the Earth is not humankind’s to do with as we please. It is God’s. We are God’s servants, and we are called to look after his creation. Think of it this way. A friend gave you a precious possession to look after. We’d do so, wouldn’t we? Why then have we treated our beautiful planet so differently?

Despite what many people think, our planet is not a commodity. It is God’s precious possession. He’s allowed us to use it. But by exploiting it and damaging it we are hurting God. And we are hurting Christ too.

In Colossians 1:17 we are told that:

¹⁷ Christ himself is before all things, and in^[a] him all things hold together.

The Church has tended to move away from thinking this. There has been an avoidance of wanting to place too much emphasis on nature for fear of worshipping nature itself. But as long as we remember that it is through Christ that everything holds together, we understand the importance of nature and our part to play in caring for it and valuing it. All too often people have done things in isolation without realising the wider consequences. If we damage one thing, we damage everything. All parts and all people, all issues are interconnected. In Christ.

For example. For many years there was no concern expressed about the rain forests being cut down. But gradually there has been a realisation that the vast rain forests provide an important part of keeping our planet habitable by taking CO² out of the atmosphere and releasing oxygen. As well as the rain forest proving habit for all manner of creatures and people. If we destroy the rain forests, we destroy the planet.

If you like me enjoy orchestral music, you’ll understand that in an orchestra all instruments have a part to play. Without them all, the orchestra loses its harmony. In fact, the harmony is destroyed. And it is the same with our planet. It matters that God’s creation is being destroyed. If the harmony of God’s creation is disrupted, then all of nature is not together.

The responsibility to care for the planet belongs to all people. But I feel that as Christians we have a special responsibility. In fact, we should be setting an example. We should be seen to be taking a lead in all we do. Whether that means ensuring our investments are ethical, buying toilet paper made from recycled paper, thinking about using green energy providers at home and in church, lobbying our MPs. There are so many ways in which can demonstrate to the wider world that we care and recognise that in serving God we are tending his planet.

Of course, there are many people outside Church who see this as an important issue. Young people especially. I’m sure many of you will have found that your children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren are really into this. And rightly so. It is their future we are talking about. They are looking to us to act. I was watching something on television last week and an advert came on for a green initiative targeted at companies to make them greener. It featured children around the world speaking about their concerns. But the one that touched me was a little American boy saying “I’m six! What can I do to sort it? You need to sort it.” Very true.

Caring for the earth is part of our worship. In caring for God’s planet, we are worshipping him and his precious son Jesus. After all, God made the planet for Jesus too!

In caring for our planet, we worship God, both in our attitudes and our actions regarding creation. You may remember how in the creation story in Genesis 1, God creates human beings and, depending on the Bible translation we read, it says that people will rule over the planet and creatures or have dominion over them. I think that way has led to an attitude of exploitation by much of humanity. I much prefer how The Message puts it “Let us make human beings in our image, reflecting our nature, so they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle And, yes, Earth itself, Genesis 1 26 – 28 The Message

We are made in God’s image. So why have human beings not cared for God’s creation? We are supposed to be stewards of HIS planet, yet we’ve exploited it and harmed it. However, we must remember that Jesus promised that through him there was a new creation. Through Jesus we as his followers can hope for things to change. But we must be part of the new creation ourselves.