Genesis 1:31 – God made everything and saw that it was good. God didn’t just make it functional, and for us, but said it was all in itself good.
Genesis 2:15 – God put human beings in the world to care for it and make it productive.
Psalm 24:1 – The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. It is not ours. If we love God, we should take care of what is God’s.
Psalm 150:6 – All of creation is made for God’s worship, not just us. In protecting the whole of it, we are protecting God’s worship.
John 3:16 – This verse is often translated ‘God so loved the word...’ but the word is cosmos – and it means exactly what it means to us in English! God’s salvation plan goes so far beyond humankind it extends to all things God has made!
Romans 8:19-28, Colossians 1:15-20 – As if John 3:16 wasn’t big enough, it gets bigger... The whole of creation is groaning. Why? It’s waiting for us! The Gospel, the good news, is this; that God is reconciling all things to Godself, through Christ, through us.
Christ is the head of the baby being reborn – and He is already raised to new life! Our resurrection is next, guaranteed as the Head’s already out, and we’re to pull the rest of creation through! But now we live with the pain of childbirth. Our transformation, which will bring in the Kingdom of restored relationships between all things and our God, comes as we open ourselves up to groan with the world and let the Spirit groan with it in us. God works with us to change the world!
We don’t know how to pray for something so seemingly overwhelming as climate change. All we can do sometimes is to keep our eyes on this hope to come, and allow ourselves to feel the groan of the earth and lift it wordlessly to the Spirit. The Spirit will lead us towards becoming part of our own answer as we get to know God more closely.
Let’s open ourselves to become more responsive to God’s heart, God’s pain over the brokenness of the world. Let’s not block out the groan or soothe the pain, but engage with it, allowing it to draw us closer to God and becoming part of God’s solution. Let’s be brave enough to let our hearts be broken, and brave enough to act on God’s leading in response. As long as we’re alive there’s potential for God to use us.
Prayer
Give us ears to hear the groan of creation in all things
Give us eyes to see the world (and ourselves) clearly in all its beauty and pain, and also to see the multitudes around us working to bring in the unseen Kingdom of God
Give us bravery to engage with the pain and act on Your leading in response