Earth Day!

Have you ever thought about the care with which God created our home? Consider: Earth is the only known planet to have lakes and oceans of liquid water. The only planet known with the ability to support life. We have plants which aid the oxygen supply and keep us breathing -- and we in turn exhale carbon dioxide, which those plants use for growth. Our water is cycled through evaporation and precipitation, keeping a balance of water and enabling plant growth without saturating the ground and drowning the life below. The planet spins on an axis, working its elliptical path around the sun, giving us daylight to work and make our living, night to cut distractions and allow our bodies and minds to rest; seasons to allow the earth to rest, reset and regenerate. We are close enough to the sun for warmth and light; far enough to avoid overheating and fiery destruction. The spin of the planet, too, and its proximity to the sun and moon, give us gravity -- a force that keeps us grounded (literally!), and holds back the oceans, giving us a separation between the water that makes up the majority of the planet, and the small amount of dry land on which we live.

It was only after God did all this -- and saw that it was good -- that He began populating it with creatures. And finally, the geological, meteorological, and biological parameters set, He created Man and gave him dominion over it.

And so, as the rest of the world celebrates Earth Day -- worshiping the planet as fountain and source of all life -- we can look in awe and renewed wonder at the beauty of the Creation, and worship the Creator who set it all in motion.

Christians often don't like to celebrate Earth Day. The decidedly pagan -- or at least humanist -- overtones of the day make us uncomfortable. I would like to suggest, though, that Earth Day is a wonderful reminder of a careful and loving God -- a God who first created a perfect home, and then gave it to us, a people created in His own image. And, too, it can be a reminder that God put us in charge. This is a perfect home, built by a perfect creator. We would do well to cherish it.