Today we celebrated Creation Sunday at church. From the bulletin...
"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." (Psalm 24:1) The church believes that God is the maker of heaven and earth and of all things within them. This conviction about origins has great implications for the way we interact with the world around us. The people of God should: give praise and thanks and celebrate God's creation, seek to become better and wiser stewards of the earth's vast potential and resources, express grief and pain at the abuse, pollution, and corruption of what God has created, offer prayers for God's blessing on the seasons and on our faithful use of creation. In a sense, Christians are (or should be) the most committed environmentalists, for our care of creation is a primary way we honor and serve the Creator.
Our stewardship of the earth is reflected in the very first chapter of the first book of the Bible. In Genesis 1:28 we find what is known as the Cultural Mandate given to the very first humans: "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 command is not to be understood as a license to do whatever we please. Rather, this command fills humans with dignity as those who God has placed over his creation. We are to wisely, creatively, and joyfully take care of God's creation and tap into its vast potential for the benefit of others and the glory of God.
Earth Day is every April 22nd and is designed to draw attention to the need to care for the environment. Yet Earth Day draws no attention to earth's creator, and as a result overlooks the primary reason we should all be environmentalists--we have been commissioned by God as stewards of creation. Thus many Christian churches celebrate Creation Sunday on the Sunday closest to April 22 as a way to call attention to both creation and Creator.
Our stewardship of the earth is reflected in the very first chapter of the first book of the Bible. In Genesis 1:28 we find what is known as the Cultural Mandate given to the very first humans: "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 command is not to be understood as a license to do whatever we please. Rather, this command fills humans with dignity as those who God has placed over his creation. We are to wisely, creatively, and joyfully take care of God's creation and tap into its vast potential for the benefit of others and the glory of God.
Earth Day is every April 22nd and is designed to draw attention to the need to care for the environment. Yet Earth Day draws no attention to earth's creator, and as a result overlooks the primary reason we should all be environmentalists--we have been commissioned by God as stewards of creation. Thus many Christian churches celebrate Creation Sunday on the Sunday closest to April 22 as a way to call attention to both creation and Creator.
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