“Ninety-eight, ninety-nine and that makes one hundred, I counted aloud while another volunteer added the total to the app on my phone. My family and I had volunteered to pick up trash surrounding a lake in our community. One of our tasks involved tracking the number of various kinds of items we collected in our clean-up efforts. Even before the end of our shift, my team and I had retrieved over 100 used, stubbed-out cigarettes from the ground near the lake. We knew this place needed some attention, but until we joined the clean-up crew, we hadn’t realized how carelessly it had been treated.
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Many of us may have noticed signs instructing us not to litter. But for those who seek to follow Jesus, our motive for caring for God’s creation goes deeper than simply following human rules.
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When we put our trust in Jesus, we begin a relationship with God as our loving Heavenly Father. Our lives take on a new direction; the Holy Spirit works in us so our actions and choices can honor God as we love and obey Him in decisions big and small.
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So, how should a child of God interact with the natural world? By first remembering that God created the world; that the earthand everything in itbelongs to Him. And by reflecting on the reality that God called His creation good (Genesis 1). As God’s love fills our hearts, it overflows in acts of love for the people and the environment around us. Our Lord invites us to care for His creation, compelled by the sure hope of Jesus’s return, when heaven will meet earth and He will renew and restore all of creation. As we keep in mind that God takes pleasure in the world He has made, we can uncover a deeper meaning behind choosing not to litterand a deeper purpose in cleaning up the litter we find around us. Allison Wilson Lee
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Jesus loves His creation (John 1:2-3; Colossians 1:15-23). How could this truth affect the way we view the earth?
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What are some practical ways we can care for the physical world that God has made?
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The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Psalm 24:1 (NIV)
Read Verses:
Genesis 1:1-Genesis 1:10; Psalm 24:1-Psalm 24:2
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