Earth Day

Tomorrow has been designated 'Earth Day'. This is the day that we are supposed to think about ways to improve the world. Many will celebrate various environmental efforts and there will be a renewed push to live 'green'. People will discuss ways to save everything from trees to seals and spotted owls (pretty much anything other than humans). There will be a collective patting ourselves on the back for the way we have improved the world with our little blue boxes, but it won't last long because we have to move quickly on to the wringing of hands due to global warming (thank you Al Gore!).


I am all in favour of a healthy environment but I think that as a Christian my approach to Earth Day should be significantly different than those who don't know Jesus as their Saviour. I think that this should be a day when I reaffirm my commitment to live a life restoring the dominion of God to our world (Genesis 1:26-28). It should be a day when I reaffirm my readiness to go into all the earth and proclaim the message of the Kingdom (Matthew 28:19,20). It should be a day when I walk with a renewed humility and dependance on God and seek His healing of our land (2 Chronicles 7:14).

For me the greatest earth day would be when Christians affirm and express Father's love for the sick, the hurting, the oppressed, the captives, the refugees and the enslaved. I don't think the earth is best served when we elevate its importance above the importance of those who the earth was created for -- humankind.