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.

Dominion And Stewardship

Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:28)

When God created the Heavens and the Earth, He spent three of the six days of Creation on our environment.  He crafted carefully the earth and the waters, and the separation between the two. He spent time on the forestation of the land. After the planet, the solar system, and indeed the Universe were right, He spent another day on the creatures who lived in the water. And another on the creatures who would dwell upon the land. On the sixth day, He created Man, and put him in charge of everything else He'd spent so much time building.

In particular, God charged man to subdue -- that is, to cultivate (defined as, among other things, to work to encourage growth) -- and to have dominion, meaning to be in authority over the land and everything in it.

Now imagine building a house for your children. You hand-select the wood and brick, the flooring and fixtures. You preside over the digging of the basement and the laying of the foundation. With your own hands, you raise the walls, lay the floor, install the lighting and the cabinetry. You, yourself, choose the best paint for the interior and highest quality siding for outside. You tell your children, "you and my grandchildren, stay in my house, which I have hand-crafted to best suit your needs. The kitchen appliances are of the highest quality, and I have spared no expense for safety or comfort. I ask only that you use it, love it, and maintain it so generations of my children and grandchildren may also have use of it."

Imagine your despair, your disappointment, in returning a year later to find the high-quality storm windows broken, the floors unswept and the walls full of unpatched holes. The unbroken windows are so filthy, the lights is barely filtered through into the dust-filled living space. The stairs are falling apart from abuse and lack of maintenance. The shingles are, somehow, falling off the building, and there is a scorching in the kitchen from an apparent fire. The drapes are torn, the wood flooring scuffed. The high-efficiency washer and dryer have been sold and replaced with cheap junk. It is, in short, as if your children had no concern for the work of your hands -- let alone for the fact that you did it all for them!

So what's my point?

The fact is, we're living in a planet uniquely -- you might say purposely -- suited for our use and enjoyment. As Christians -- as a people who recognize that we are children of God, and living in a home He created -- we ought to all be concerned about our environment. I'm not suggesting every Christian in the world become a tree-hugging hippie, protesting global warming and chaining ourselves to sequoias. I am saying we ought to be at the forefront of those who care what happens to this planet, and the creatures -- all the creatures -- living on it.

We needn't idolize our environment to be grateful for what we've been given, and to desire to take care of it. We need only understand it is a gift from our Creator, given for our use, and requiring our good stewardship. God worked hard to create this world for His children. His children ought to be, perhaps, a little more grateful than we have been.