Living in the Garden

The angry voice of a teenager shouting, “how dare you,” boomed across the world. It took a 16-year-old girl from Sweden called Greta Thunberg to get our attention. There are a few things that make this significant. It reveals the power of social media. It also speaks to the world’s fixation on climate change. There is a divide on the issue. Some believe climate change is entirely caused by man; while others are equally adamant that climate change is something that is natural and occurring all the time. The doomsday prophets of Climate Change have a rather poor track record of predicting the future. Science was predicting an ice age in the 70’s, but now it is the Arctic Ice disappearing by 2013 or 2014, which has now been upgraded to 2020.

There is no doubt the earth requires stewardship. From the terrible smog in New Delhi and every other big city to the dying off of bees, the world’s climate is changing and needs our love and attention.

What is the Christian response? God told us to care for the earth. Christians ought to be the first in line to clean up the garbage, to curb the greed, and reduce plastics in the ocean. But often we are not. God gave humans a responsibility to care for the earth. In the very beginning, we see this statement, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” (Genesis 2:15) The garden was a place of beauty, a source of life, offering rest and food to humans. But it needed care. It is a simple case of privilege and responsibility. We reap the privileges of a beautiful environment, but it requires a high level of responsibly as well. My local garden is a great example. We love the bounty that comes from the soil, but it requires us to “subdue” the weeds, the insects, and other predators that challenge God’s provision for us. One year, crows cleaned out the little corn sprouts poking out of the ground in Doreen’s garden. Suddenly, Doreen wanted to learn how to use a rifle. Note to self, do not mess with Doreen’s garden. The garden serves as a microcosm of the situation in the world. All the resources to care for the people are on the earth, given to humans by God’s gracious loving hands. We have a responsibly to manage, protect, and care for this resource. It is said, there is enough food on the earth so that no one will go hungry. Are we good stewards of this resource, or do we consume more than we need, while others go hungry?

Much is said today about keeping the world green. Kudos. But for what purpose, so we can continue our privileged lifestyle? How about we keep the world fed, how about we use less, so we can give more?

This Sunday, I will be sharing on the Stewardship of the earth and our responsibility in it. This will not be a left wing or a right wing message, but a straightforward message. Even Jesus said, the road is narrow that leads to life. Let’s walk it together.

Jim Reimer, Pastor

November 14, 2019