Home » Thoughts for the Week » And God saw that it was Buen (Good)! (29 June)

And God saw that it was Buen (Good)! (29 June)

Today’s thought for the week comes from Simon Goddard, a member of the EBA BUEN (Baptist Union Environmental Network).

And God saw that it was Buen (Good)!

A few years ago, I had to make a strange call to the Ministries Team at Didcot. “I’m wondering,” I said, “whether I would lose my accreditation if I happen to get arrested next weekend?” Unlike my friend Matt, it wasn’t my intention to end up in a police cell, but I knew that it was still a possibility when I participated in the non-violent direct action that the group I was part of hoped would challenge the public, and the government, take climate change seriously.

Perhaps you’ve already started thinking “oh, this is an environmental thought for the week” and are about to press the ‘archive’ button before getting to the end. “I read these things to be inspired in mission, or to help me in my devotion to God, or to get a sermon idea… what on earth has all this ‘green’ stuff got to do with the gospel!” Well I want to suggest to you that there are three good biblical reasons for the church, and those of us in Christian ministry, to put this higher up on our agenda.

Reason 1 – Because We Love God

John Stott said: “God intends our care of the creation to reflect our love for the Creator”. If we love Jesus, the one for whom and through whom all things were created (Colossians 1:15-17), this will surely impact our view of, and care for, all that He has made. In Genesis 1 God declares the goodness of creation, and in its goodness it glorifies God, joining with humanity in our divine worship (Psalm 98, Psalm 148). There are other texts that speak of God’s ongoing providential care for creation (Psalm 104), and its inclusion in His redeeming purposes (Romans 8:21). God obviously places great value on what he has created, and those who love Him and seek to be Christlike, will do likewise.

Reason 2 – Because We Love Our Neighbour

Our faith is in a God of justice, who throughout the Scriptures tells us to care practically for those who live in poverty (e.g. 1 John 3:17-18), and the reality is that the way you and I live strains the world’s resources, produces pollution and impacts the world’s poorest most severely. The climate consequences of our actions, such as droughts in Africa and floods in Asia, are the very reason why organisations such as Tearfund and Christian Aid, whose primary concern is with people living in poverty, are now actively campaigning so significantly on environmental issues. Our lack of love for our neighbour puts not only their lives and livelihoods in jeopardy but impacts our relationship with God too. The words of Proverbs 21:13 are stark: “Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor, will himself call out and not be answered”.

Reason 3 – Because We Love The Gospel

Psalm 19 says: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” So, we should think of sharing the gospel as teamwork. Creation does it part, and we do our part. The natural world gives its testimony, alongside human evangelists. Jesus himself told us to look at the wildflowers and the birds if we want to know what God’s character is like; if you want to know that He can take care of you too. But creation will only be able to do its part when it is allowed to speak in all of its majesty and beauty, unencumbered by human pollution and exploitation.

Many environmental activists are living in despair, and as a Christian in that context people ask me why I am so hopeful. My hope is found in Christ, in his life, death and resurrection – but we misunderstand and limit the gospel if we reduce salvation to some sort of spiritual escape from an unholy material world. In Romans 8 Paul makes clear that our redemption is part and parcel of God redeeming and renewing the whole of creation. That gospel of grace, however, our belief in a powerful and sovereign God, and our hope in God’s future are not alternatives to wise and moral actions in the situations that confront us in the here and now (Romans 6:1-2). Our love for the gospel, for our neighbour, and for our Creator God, compel us to be better stewards of this ‘good’ earth.

This ‘thought for the week’ is a brief summary of a longer talk that you can watch on YouTube. If you want to know more about BUEN then get in touch with the EBA contact, Hannah Gray (hanban@hotmail.com), or visit the BUEN Facebook page.