God is calling us to act
The Bible says that the creation groans in pain while it waits for the children of God to be revealed and to redeem it. God is now calling us to act. “The entire life of Christians is an exploration into Christ. Each generation pushes back ever so slightly this envelope of his mystery…One of the most significant developments in Catholic understanding of the Christian mission in more recent times is its embrace of creation in all its beauty and vitality.” Archbishop Bathersby) Growing ‘Creation Care’ movements in churches and denominations throughout the world indicate the Holy Spirit is inspiring a movement towards remembering our Christian duty to creation.
Important Lessons from the Bible
Why Jesus came:
"that the world might be saved through him"
John 3:17
Who Jesus is going to use to save the world:
"For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God."
Romans 8:19
Our role on earth:
"The LORD God put the man in the Garden of Eden to take care of it and to look after it."
Genesis 2:15
The Five Pillars of A Christian Theology of Sustainability
1. God is the creator, sustainer and redeemer of creation.
2. Covenantal Stewardship (we have a covenant with God as stewards of the earth).
3. The creation-fall-redemption paradigm (God made a good world; human failure broke the relationships between god, man and creation; Christ provides hope for all creation).
4.Bodily resurrection(we will rise with bodies, not as spirits)
5.New Creation (a new Heaven and new Earth refers to a renewal and an earthing of heaven, not starting over).
Adapted from When Enough is Enough: A Christian Framework for Environmental Sustainability, Edited by R.J. Berry, Published by Inter-Varsity Press, 2007, Nottingham p43+
No comments:
Post a Comment