Recently I found this picture in an article from National Geographic. What a beautiful sight. A sign of hope in a broken world. An oasis in the desert.
I was even more delighted to find out that in the centre of this oasis is a church!
I was even more delighted to find out that in the centre of this oasis is a church! “Oh how lovely,” I thought, “this church answered the call to care for creation and started to plant a forest in the desert”. I was astounded to find out then, that some of these forests are 1,500 years old. The church has not seen a crisis and answered a call – they have been faithfully tending the piece of creation God gave them to steward for over a thousand years. What a testimony to the faithfulness of God in our world.
With this the nagging question “what if” started eating away at my heart. While many churches in North America have all but forgotten this call to steward the land in a way that benefits all creatures, I couldn’t help but wonder…“what if”?
They have been faithfully tending the piece of creation God gave them to steward for over a thousand years
Genesis 9:8-17 describes those first moments when Noah and all in the ark with him were free to go into the world after the flood. The earth was refreshed and they were ready to start again.
Here God made his covenant with Noah. In my early days as a Christian I read it as a covenant between God and all humanity. But it says something much bigger. If you look at this passage with an eye to understand God’s relationship with all creatures you might be surprised to see that God’s covenant is with Noah, his descendants, and every living creature that was with him.
In my early days as a Christian I read it as a covenant between God and all humanity.
And just in case we didn’t get it the first time God says it 7 times: every living creature that is with you - the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals…every living creature on earth…every living creature with you…between me and the earth…between me and you and all living creatures of every kind…all living creatures of every kind on the earth…all life on earth.
So I can’t help but wonder – what if we actually believed that? What if every church, every Christian school yard, every piece of property owned by Christians was an oasis not just for our souls and hearts but for our physical world and being as well – for every living creature with us? We are covenant people after all.
So I can’t help but wonder – what if we actually believed that?
What if, when a bird flew over the piece of property God has given you to steward it looked down and exclaimed with relief, “Finally the tree/water/habitat I was looking for”? The potential for healing the brokenness and answering the groaning of all creation is huge when we think of how much land is “owned” by people who profess to believe what the Bible says and live their lives in a way that reflects that.
I’ve been trying in my own way to restore a habitat in my area: the Upper Bulkley River in Houston, BC. With teams of volunteers, we raise salmon from egg to fry and release them into the river to help strengthen the salmon population. It’s not glamorous work, but our hatchery gives salmon eggs a 77% chance to grow into fry—much greater than the 1% chance they get in the wild.
“Finally the tree/water/habitat I was looking for!”
God says:
…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)
God promises not only to forgive our sins but to heal our land.
God promises not only to forgive our sins but to heal our land. Let’s take Him at His word and be people who actually believe that the covenant is for all creatures. How then shall we live? Humble ourselves, pray, seek God’s face, and turn from our wicked ways. It won’t be easy, we may have to give up some things we’d rather hang on to, but God promises the results will heal not only us but our land as well. And oh – wouldn’t that be worth it? What if…
You can read more about Cindy’s work with A Rocha Canada here.
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