“God’s Green Earth”
“1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
“11 Then God said, ‘Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.’ And it was so.”
“20 And God said, ‘Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.’”
“24 And God said, ‘Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.’ And it was so.” Genesis 1:1, 11, 20, 24 (NIV)
Did all this work take just six, twenty-four-hour days? Did God sleep? I don’t know. Not surprising to anyone who has ever read one of my devotions, I have an opinion on it, but we’re not going there, at least not today.
We prepare to worship at First Presbyterian Church’s Retreat Center, this next Sunday, August 7, 2022, let us appreciate God’s work. Let us be thankful that those who went before us had the direction, foresight, and means to acquire this piece of property for us to enjoy. Let us also be thankful for those who currently are the caretakers of this resource.
Genesis 1:26 (NIV) goes on to task humankind as caretakers of all God has created:
“26 Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’”
Further in Genesis, humans are given “…rule over…,” inclusively, all of the earth. We, humans, are the stewards of the earth. It is ours to enjoy, but with that enjoyment comes responsibility.
My CNN app just posted a story from Reuters, which relates that nearly all of the sea turtles hatching in the Florida Keys are female. According to that story, “If a turtle’s eggs incubate below 81.86 Fahrenheit (27.7 Celsius), the turtle hatchlings will be male, whereas if they incubate above 88.8 F (31C), they will be female, according to NOAA’s National Ocean Service website.” The story goes on to quote Melissa Rosales Rodriguez, of the Miami Zoo, “’Over the years, you’re going to see a sharp decline in their population because we just don’t have the genetic diversity.’”
We, humans, are the caretakers of “God’s green earth.” The turtle story is but one of the “Canaries” God has sacrificed “in the coal mines,” to let humanity know how it’s doing. Ashamedly I know that I am not doing all I could be.