It feels like the weather’s finally turning a corner. There are still muddy piles of snow in shadowy places, but the sun’s showing up more and more often. And while the temperature still seesaws between winter and spring, warm days are getting more frequent. It finally feels like “Aslan is on the move,” and spring is on its way! As we get outside and enjoy nature more, let’s remember our responsibility to care for God’s creation.
Our world is an amazing gift. God planned and executed every last detail of our universe and crowned it by creating beings in His own image: human men and women. Creation declares God’s glory (Psalm 19), and it also contains many incredible things that help us survive and thrive. From the earth, we get food and resources to live (Genesis 1:29, 9:3). Beyond that, there’s much to enjoy, too—the psalmist who wrote Psalm 104 couldn’t help but marvel at the wonderful works throughout the natural world. Creation can also teach us valuable lessons. In Job 38-41, God uses various natural processes and creatures to instruct Job. And in Luke 12:24-28, Jesus crafts a parable out of flowers and birds.
As much as we benefit from the earth, we weren’t made to be just consumers. When humans were created, we were given the task of caring for the other parts of God’s creation under our control. In Genesis 1:28, God tells Adam and Eve to “fill the earth and subdue it” and “rule over” the animals (NIV). He also initially put Adam in the garden of Eden to “work it and take care of it” (Genesis 2:15, NIV). These verses indicate our role here as human beings. We don’t own the earth; God does. We have temporary stewardship as caretakers and managers. It’s almost as if we’re house-sitting. We should treat the planet with respect, knowing it belongs to someone else. The Lord will return someday, and then it will be time for us to leave the earth. But until then, we’ve been entrusted with living here and taking care of things. This includes keeping it clean and in good shape and using resources wisely and not wastefully. This world won’t last forever, but we don’t know when its end date is. So, we’re meant to be responsible caretakers for however long we might be here. It’s our responsibility to steward the earth both for the sake of those who live here now and the generations who come after, in case the Lord delays coming back for a while.
We all affect our environment, and we must work together to care for it. While not everyone has the same impact or opportunities for environmental care, there are many small things most of us can do. First, when we enjoy natural areas, we should leave them as pristine as we find them or better, such as by not damaging landscapes or leaving litter. Second, we should treat animals ethically, whether we’re hunting, farming, owning pets, or protecting endangered species. Third, we can limit unnecessary waste of water, food, energy, etc. Fourth, we can recycle, reuse, or responsibly dispose of the materials we use. Finally, we should help our leaders make decisions that will wisely steward our world’s resources (and pray for them, as those decisions are often very complicated and not obvious).
We can all care for the planet we’ve been entrusted with in small and big ways as we’re given the ability and opportunity. What are some other ways you care for creation? What parts of the natural world do you find most wondrous? Feel free to share in the comments below.
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