(Opening of Psalm 24)
The good people of Missoula, Montana have always prided themselves in trying to protect the environment. Though the city only has about 80,000 residents, they have a bicycle-courier company, propane-fueled vehicles, and the entire city infrastructure is built to accommodate, if not encourage, the use of bicycles for transportation. Tree-huggers abound, and they wear the label of “granola” with pride.
And yet it is rare that the Christian movement is seen embracing the environmental movement. Not that I feel the need to reconcile the two, but there is certainly something to be said about our role as God-fearing stewards of the earth. Man was put in charge of God’s Creation – a creation that was deemed “good” – from the very beginning. There is an element of responsibility that simply can not be shaken.
Be green.
Sure, when you hear that phrase, the first ideas that may come to your mind may be: Recycle. Use reusable shopping bags. Carpool.
However, before we jump fully onto the environmental bandwagon we should remind ourselves of what we are being responsible for. We must learn to comprehend and then preserve the glory of God. Being “green” means first observing the fingerprints of a Creator.
Challenge #12 is extremely simple: Read. Read Job 38 and 39. Then read Psalm 104. Share your thoughts below. Be green. But first… find the glory in green.
I have included links to websites for green ideas. Become conscious of your responsibility, as a Christian, to respect and care for the earth and all its glory. This beautiful world points to a God that, as the psalmist says, is “clothed with splendor and majesty”!
Websites with green ideas:
http://www.greenglobeideas.com/
http://www.aboutmyplanet.com/
http://www.greenlivingideas.com/
Tuesday’s Challenge #13: CLIMB
This time of year, I love to watch spring cover the earth in a new glory. The trees begin to bud, and their silhouettes soften and blur with flowers and new leaves. The grass begins to green and grow again. The birds that flew south for the winter begin to return to their summer homes and build nests. And God decorates the earth with the beauty of spring flowers - everything from the tiny stars of Bethlehem and early iris cristata to forsythia, daffodils, crocus, and tulips. God clothes the world in new garments, and in doing so lifts my heart and causes me to praise and bless Him for the wonder of His creation.
ReplyDeleteIt is clear that we have a responsibility to be good stewards of all the gifts God has given us, including the earth. How can you look at the beauty and majesty of our universe and not see God in His handiwork? I don't want to have a world that doesn't reflect God's glory - where I don't see Him in the beauty around me.
However, it is equally clear that the earth is to serve us, and not the other way around. Consider Genesis 1:26-28, "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.'"
This juxtaposition is part of my problem with most of the green movement. They don't recognize God in His creation and they refuse to see that people were intended by God to rule over nature. (And they are intellectually dishonest, as the ongoing climate change scandal has revealed.)
God does not need us to preserve His glory and He doesn't want us to worship His creation. He wants us to worship HIM. If we have the relationship with God that He desires for us, then the tension between mankind and the rest of creation will be put into perspective. If we glorify God, an appreciation of the beauty and wonder and majesty of His gifts will follow.
Lynn, I couldn't have said it better. You expressed my thoughts about this subject in a beautiful way.
ReplyDeleteI will enjoy reading these passages from Job and Psalms. Being reminded of God's creativity and majesty is always important.
~Natalie
To me, it just reminds me that God made EVERYTHING. Everything is made perfectly because of him. And not only did he make everything but he also knows everything. He knows why things happen now, what's going to happen later, and what we think and do. I need to be reminded of that a lot because I often think that I know what's best for myself but obviously that's not true.
ReplyDeleteIt's just a good reminder of how powerful God really is.
Dylon
ReplyDeleteThose passages reminded me of all of the wondeers God made on the Earth.It lets me think of them in a different way than a mountain or a pasture.It reminds me that God knows everything and is all powerful he shapes the present and the future.
When most people go green they think like I'll pick up some trash and i can get on with my life. I realized that that just doesn't cut it you need to set your mind right and open your mind to the possibilites of the ways to impact and help the Earth on which we live.
These passages really remind me that GOD is in control...not me, not my parents, not any other thing in my life...no. GOD is in control. He made everything in this world and without him, we are nothing, absolutely nothing. Without him, we would not have air, water, food, shelter, friends and family, pets....nothing. It really reiterates the fact that I am powerless. Things that "I" do, I could not do without the power of God. We need to make sure that everything we do and say, we do it for the Glory of GOD, and don't take the credit, but give it to GOD.
ReplyDeleteBeing green is never something i was really about. I thought many people too much empahasis on it. I believe theres a Casting Crowns song that has the line "save the trees and kill the children." Abortion, for instance, is considered okay in our society, but heaven forbid you chop down a tree!! It's just ridiculous to me, and God gave us dominion over the earth that we would rule over it.
ReplyDeleteHowever, this makes a very good point. Even though we have been given dominion does not mean we should abuse it. It is not truly ours to begin with, and we know it won't last. But who's to say that even though many environmentalists are far from Christians that we can't jump on the bandwagon (to an extent)? Christians don't have a very good rap to begin with, and i believe a lot of it has to do with attitudes like mine that i just stated. JD points out all the time that the people Jesus hung out with were the sinners and the outcasts. So i see a perfect opportunity here to integrate ourselves in a popular movement of modern culture, while bringing our own positive take on it- we do it because this earth is a gift that we will use to glorify God. Who knows? Maybe someone's life will be changed because of it.
Lynn sums it up perfectly!
ReplyDeleteI love these passages. They are so humbling because they remind of how powerful God is and that even when I think I'm in control, I'm not. I am also reminded of how wonderful His creation is and how he is always taking care of it. Anyways, I love this.
ReplyDelete(leslie)
ReplyDeletethese passages kind of made me laugh. GOD was like: job, you're an idiot. seriously, i made just everything...do you still want to argue with ME? i think my favorite part was job 38:21 "But of course you know all this! For you were born before it was all created, and you are so very experienced!" (NLT) GOD was using sarcasm. i laughed.
but on a more serious side...GOD thinks of EVERYTHING. literally and otherwise. like HE thought of everything and then HE made it! i have planned a lot of things and i always forget something. but not GOD. i can't remember everything for a one night event. but GOD thought of everything, with the trimmings, AND made it beautiful!! wow. that's big. GOD's big. GOD's amazing. and go ahead and look outside and tell me that HE doesn't love you. you can't!! there really is no no no word for how great GOD is. praise HIM.
And leslie's comment is why I love my roommate! I thought the exact same thing. I'm sure God things the same thing about me a lot... That being "you idiot... do you really think I don't know that or haven't planned for it?"
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to take my climb. I hate to he outdoors but I love nature. I love to see it and wish I had the creative eye to help others see it, see God, better.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletewow this got me thinking God has athority over all things and still has time to listen to my prayers
ReplyDeletethease chapters show Gods power over all things
I have these sudden urges to rush in my house, grab the camera, and snap close-ups of budding trees, daffodils, even those weeds with the purple flowers on the ends. I enjoy taking pictures, but instead of taking them, I'm usually in them. And I can never find the camera.
ReplyDeleteOH, THERE IT IS!!!
'Bye.
well i was going to say something, but everybody just about said it as well as i could have. these words are so powerful. they show how God shaped adn formed the earth, how he put everything here for a purpose. he controls and creates everything and its amazing. we shouldnt abuse it in any way, which means no abusing people, future people, past people and all creatures like animals and plants. God made us able to talk and think for a reason.
ReplyDeleteoh yeah, btw. i put out bird feeders in my yard and a small bird house.
ReplyDelete