Stewardship of Creation
and
Today
we continue our series on Stewardship.
Last
time we saw that the truth is that God owns everything and human beings are His
stewards, caretakers, and we saw that God entrusts different things to
different people. As Christians we are called to be Good Stewards of the
things God entrusts to us. Today we are looking at our Stewardship of Creation, which God has entrusted to us.
The following is a quote from Patricia Fagg, a
Christian environmentalist:
“If I fail to acknowledge that God
has made the natural world and so treat His work with contempt, if I treat
creation as if it were my own to do with as I please, if I deface creation and
mar its ability to delight God and to bring Him glory, if I impair creation and
it’s creatures so that they cease to flourish in healthful balance, if I degrade my
surroundings by greedily taking from creation and thoughtlessly tossing out the
waste, then I put myself in the place of God and usurp His place as King. I am
in rebellion against God. I have broken the two great commandments. I am not
loving God. I am not loving my neighbour.”
If
you’ve read/watched the news, you’ve heard of things like global warming, hole
in ozone layer, forests being destroyed, air and water pollution, of fresh water
running out, of fossil fuels running out, etc, etc.
The question is, do I care?
Should a
Christian care about these things?
Do you care about these things?
The
future of our world and the well being of it’s children are at risk. Some of
the most urgent issues include the degradation of agricultural and pastoral
lands, deforestation, diminishing water supplies, rising levels of pollution
and the provision of safe power. The tragedy of such trends is that the
environment becomes less able to balance itself – floods and droughts are more
frequent, crops and herds are unable to survive beyond their range of
tolerance, humans face worsening flood and water security and increased levels
of poverty.
Do
you and I care?
Should a steward of God's creation care about these things?
If
human beings weren’t here, the world, its rivers, its animals, its forests,
its atmosphere.... would all be in a far better way.
Ultimately
we must recognize that God’s creation is groaning because of human sin. As Romans 8:22 reminds us: For we know that up to the present time all of creation groans with pain, like the pain of childbirth.
Now, sin
is our business. Healing sin and its consequences is a mission of the Church. Do we believe that a God-centered response to stewardship of the environment
will result in some healing for creation, some improvement in the lives of
people (especially for the most needy), or do we not care,.... or worse, have we given up. If we do believe that a God-centered response to stewardship of the environment will result in some healing for creation, some improvement in the lives of people (especially for the most needy), then...
IT
IS OUT TASK TO CARE FOR CREATION, and to the believe that it’s not too late.
There
seem to be at least 4 principles of earth care in the Bible:
1.
God intends creation to
flourish, not suffer.
Ps 24:1 ‘The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof…’ ....fullness implies bursting at the seams with his creatures and their praise for Him.
‘Be fruitful and increase in number’ ....is not only said to human beings
but also to the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. God intends
creation to flourish, and when it doesn’t, it should bother
us.
2.
God intends us to be
active users of creation
“… fill the earth and bring it under your control” (Gen
1:28). We are intended to make use of creation – eg. cultivating crops,
domesticating animals, cropping trees and minerals – this is God’s provision
for us.
3.
God intends us to use
creation wisely
“Rule over…” (Gen 1:28) Rule over this creation in a way that it
thrives.
4.
Go intends us to nurture
creation.
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to take care of
it...” (Gen 2:15) The emphasis changes from ‘use’ to ‘tend and care’. There’s a
sense in which God expects us to bless creation.
Our parable reading from Mt 21:33-40 reminds us that a day of judgment
is coming ....“Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes," ....when you and I will be judged: How did we care for the
vineyard (creation) that was entrusted to us?
And Jesus won’t say ‘Cedric, you
didn’t stop global warming.’ But He will say, ‘Cedric, what did you, as you
lived in Alberton, do to try and prevent my planet from overheating............. to save
water or electricity etc.
What did you do when you discovered how chickens are treated in battery farms?
Did you think it wasn't your business to care for my creation?
Conclusion:
We
are looking at Stewardship.
The good news is that the mighty, Creator God, has invited you and me into a relationship with Him in which He asks us to be His stewards. Isn't that awesomely good news?
Do you think God wants you to care for His creation
in your ‘little’ way? What are you and I going to do in response to being
reminded that we are Stewards of Creation?
