The future of the earth and the environment in the present

I wonder what kind of connection there is between what we think God will do to the earth when Jesus returns (“reappears”) and what we think about environmental issues today.

I’m not sure how popular it still is today for Christians to think that God’s ultimate goal is to take Christians out of this world and obliterate the planet. I remember it being a pretty common belief when I was growing up in the church. It definitely seems to be the consensus around the still (ridiculously) popular dispensationalism.

There is definitely an important foundation for our relationship to the earth in the reality that God created it and gave humanity the responsibility to take care of it. We don’t, therefore, “own” the earth; we are its stewards. I don’t see how any Christian could deny this foundational belief. “God don’t make junk.”

But, this is also closely connected with the ultimate goal of the earth itself. God “gave” the earth to humanity to take care of it (while himself sustaining it through us), but the way we take care of it is not by leaving it as it is. The mandate/vocation/task to be fruitful and multiply was essentially to spread God’s glory throughout the earth – not simply by “making babies” but my creating culture. This task has never been repealed. And, it’s clear that the effects of Jesus’ death on the cross have global implications, not just spiritual:

Col. 1:15-20 – He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Shalom (peace) was what Adam and Eve experienced before they sinned, and shalom is what we see accomplished/inaugurated by Jesus (through his death and resurrection) but not completed until His return. This shalom includes a renewed creation, not just human beings in harmony with God and each other (Romans 8). God’s “mission” has never been just to save individuals out of this world into a spiritual eternity, but rather to rescue everything that has been distorted by sin.

But, this also doesn’t mean that we should care for the earth because if we don’t then it’s going to completely fall apart. This is a motivation based in fear rather than in love. “Our labor is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15) because everything we do now will somehow be used by God in the “new heavens and new earth.”

It seems that more and more legitimate theologians and pastors are “getting” this important aspect of Christian faith. Here are some great places to see the fruit:

The Mission of God by Chris Wright
Doug Moo on “Nature in the New Creation” – PDF / MP3
Tim Keller on “Can Faith Be Green?” – MP3
Creation Care conference @ Southeastern Seminary

I hope that many more will begin to reflect on what a faithful Christian response to the earth that God has entrusted to us might look like – neither neglect, abuse, or worship, but stewardship (love).

I want to leave this post with a couple quick thoughts from the late great Francis Schaeffer:

“Christians, of all people, should not be the destroyers. We should treat nature with an overwhelming respect… If we treat nature as having no intrinsic value, our own value is diminished.”