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Jo Swinney, Director of Communications for A Rocha International, explores how the Bible tells the story of God’s love and redemptive purposes for all he has made, not just the people. |
“How many birds have you converted then?” This question or a version of it was often thrown at my parents in the early 1980s when a visitor to the Algarve stumbled upon A Rocha, then a Christian field study centre and bird observatory, now a global family of Christian conservation organizations. Many felt concern about what they saw as a quirky, potentially dodgy form of mission – caring for a vulnerable habitat and its creatures in God’s name. Missionaries typically set out to share “the gospel” – literally good news - from the Greek euangelion. But what is this good news, and who is it for? Is it just about saving human souls to ensure their heavenly future, or does the Bible tell a bigger story? And if the gospel is good news for all creation, what does that mean for the Church?
Scripture begins with God’s creation of all that is and declaring it good. Most English translations of the Bible have inserted a subheading into Genesis 9 that says, ‘God’s covenant with Noah.’ The text actually says, ‘I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark.’ (vv9-10).
As humans, we have the tendency to place ourselves centre stage, other people supporting cast and everything else the backdrop. In Colossians 1, Paul provides a necessary corrective; speaking of Christ, he writes ‘all things have been created through him and for him.’ (v16). Beetles, orchids, echidna and waterfalls give God glory, reflect his character, and belong to him, not us. He goes on, ‘For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.’ (v19, 20). All things, not just human things, are swept into the embrace of God’s eternal, redemptive purposes. As Romans 8:21 puts it, ‘the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
The Bible is clear then – there is an eternal future for this beautiful universe, because God intends to restore and renew it. Does that mean we don’t need to worry about the state it’s in? Isn’t it God’s job to sort it out on Judgement Day? With icecaps melting, clean air a luxury for a lucky few, a worrying dearth of pollinators and 100-year storms happening annually, it is indeed wonderful that our hope is in the Lord of Heaven and Earth and not in our own ability to scramble our way out of a major pickle. However, if we claim a relationship with God, it only makes sense that we would take great care of whatever and whoever he loves – this is integral to meaningful worship and obedience. What would happen to my relationship with my friend if I took her dog for a walk and threw it a stick into the path of oncoming traffic just to see what would happen? Do I refuse to take antibiotics for a nasty chest infection because one day I’ll die, and God will give me a brand new body?
The care of creation is not yet another programme to add into the life of a busy church. It is living in right relationship with God, with the world he made and loves, and with each other. It is working to ensure the soil, the air, the water and all the living things do well. When they are healthy and thriving, we are blessed, and when they are degraded, depleted or worse, we suffer, especially the poor among us.
What does this look like in practice? It looks like an exuberantly bio-diverse churchyard; it looks like serving coffee after the service in mugs that get washed and put out again next week not chucked into landfill; it looks like going on the adventure of becoming an Eco Church, using the wealth of environmentally-themed Roots resources; or taking responsibility for cleaning a local river as a church community. It looks like reading the Bible with eyes that see God’s love for all he has made and the expectation that we will care for creation, not abuse it.
*All Bible quotes are NRSVA version.