Lifeway Young Adults

3 Thoughts About Creation Care

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New life

While many people across the world celebrate Earth Day, Christians often ponder how to be good stewards of God’s creation. It’s important to note biblical and practical ideas related to creation care to better understand our role as managers of the earth God has entrusted to us. Here are three thoughts to consider about creation care.

1. Why Should Creation Care Matter?
Biblically speaking, our environment is part of God’s creation. Just as we’re called to care for widows and orphans (James 1:27), we’re called to watch over the earth. Let’s look at a few verses to better understand why caring for the earth matters.

In Genesis 1, we find God’s design for creation: Humanity is His representative on earth.

“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female. God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth'” (Genesis 1:26-28).
In Colossians, it’s revealed that all of creation belongs to Jesus–all the animals, plants, minerals, waters, and so forth:
“For everything was created by Him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16).
God created the world, and it all belongs to Him. And when Jesus Himself was asked which command was the greatest, He said:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39).
2. Understanding Our Role
Being created in God’s image and likeness, humans have the responsibility to “rule” all living creatures and to “subdue” the earth. Adam was the “mayor” of the garden-city where God placed him. Genesis 2:8 says, “The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there He placed the man He had formed.”He was to do more than just plow the soil. He was responsible for a robust environment of animals, trees, rivers, and more. Adam was to care for, watch over, and carry on the creation that God had given him. And that servant responsibility passes down to each generation.

3. Seeking the Right Balance
As God-appointed managers of creation, we must find the right balance of consumption, conservation, and contribution. We can and should use the resources the earth provides, but we also need to preserve or maintain what we can for others, as well as giving back by finding ways to enrich life on earth.Through simple changes and selfless choices we might demonstrate the Creator’s love for all the world–His entire creation. We can accomplish the Great Commission at the same time we live out the Great Commandment.

* Adapted from Manage: Caring for All God Entrusted to Us, a Bible study from Threads by Micah Carter and Fred “Chip” Luter III