But I haven't talked about the relationship that I see between God as the creator and our "conviction" as the creation that He gives us.
Genesis 1:24-30 says, "And God said, 'Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.' And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds , and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.' Then God said, 'I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground-everything that has the breath of life in it-I give every green plant for food.' And it was so. "
For me this is a verse that I love to read. Someday I plan to have a career where I am involved in some sort of wildlife management or conservation agency. I find it very cool that one of the very first things God says to man is that all of the plants and animals are under his control. God essentially commands Adam to be a conservationist. To look over the plants and animals.
In a way I see this as a gift from God. Going back to the analogy of God being an artist and the earth as His art, its like one of your friends creating something for you and giving it to you. I'm sure everyone has given something or has been given something at some point. Either way, it's a good feeling. But think about that for a moment. If you painted something for a friend of yours, you wouldn't want them to just look at it and say, "Eh, whatever. That's nice." and then throw it away! You would want them to keep it, put it somewhere special where it won't get bent, broken or ripped. I feel the same is true for God. I believe God created all the things on this earth for two reasons: to give Him glory and to help us through this life. There are new discoveries that come up all the time of some plant that can cure some sickness and things of that sort. God gave us what He did because He loves us. Just the same reason why you would make a gift for a friend.
I feel like often times (myself definitely included) we tend to take what we have been given for granted. It's like we look at the earth and say, "Eh, whatever. That's nice." and then throw it away. I don't know about you but if I was the creator of something that was treated that way, my feelings would be hurt.
Shifting into another direction, the same is true for the people God has created. The way God tells us to treat each other is different than the ways he expects us to treat the earth, but it is still our conviction to treat people with respect too. More so than the earth actually.
I'm pretty sure that if Jesus was here in the flesh today that no Christian would treat Him in a disrespectful way (if they did, that wouldn't make much sense). But where it gets difficult is where, as Christians, we are supposed to treat everyone like Jesus. That is SO hard. Especially because people aren't perfect. I know in my life it has been hard especially after someone has hurt me. Sometimes its hard to forgive and forget.
And you also have the homeless, the murderers, the alcoholics, the rapists...It's hard to reach out to people with that reputation and treat them like Jesus too. And I feel terrible saying that. It makes me sound like I think I'm better than them. But that is society. That is human nature. But Christianity isn't supposed to be easy. To be a Christian you literally have to go against almost everything society tells you is true. You have to treat them like Jesus too.
Recently, I have placed membership at Highway Church of Christ here in Searcy while I am here for college. I feel like God is using the people and the messages there to help me with that concept. In the college class, our theme for the semester is "Give me your eyes". This was taken from a Brandon Heath song. The chorus goes-"Give me your eyes for just one second, give me your eyes so I can see. Everything that I've been missing. Give me your love for humanity. Give me your arms for the broken hearted, the ones that are far beyond my reach. Give me your eyes for just one second, give me your eyes so I can see". So in class we are focusing on seeing people through God's eyes. Seeing potential in the homeless and the prostitutes and approaching them with the love that we should have for them. We will actually be going to talk with the homeless and other people in the near future. I'm kind of scared because this requires some coming out of my comfort zone but I'm excited to see how I grow from these experiences.
Anyways, I don't want to sound so preachy. That's not my intention. But these are two things that I feel convicted to do.
I am not saying that if you were a good Christian, you would become a Wildlife activist and never turn your lights on or drive your car in order to be green. God put compassion for His creation in my heart. And He puts other desires and passion in other peoples' hearts in order to do His will. But I think the underlying factor here is respect. Respect for all creation: humans and the earth. You don't have to be a radical environmentalist to be respectful of His art. Just thanking Him for what He has made is enough.
On the other hand..I do believe that a radical love for humanity is what God wants for all of us. The world would be a much better place if we were all like His son.. After all, Jesus was a radical too..
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