CrossLife Church- Pflugerville, TX

7 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day

Some say that the first Earth Day, celebrated on April 22, 1970, marked the beginning of the modern environmental movement. Over 50 years later we’re still pursuing the earth’s better health and longer sustainability. We’ve even expanded Earth Day to Earth Week. 

With some help from the Bible, here are seven suggestions for celebrating Earth Week.

Give credit where credit is due.

God miraculously created the earth out of nothing and without a flaw. He can do that because he’s God and the earth isn’t. Therefore the earth serves him. “Praise him, sun and moon, praise him all you shining stars. Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created” (Psalm 148:3-5).

Understand the origin of the earth’s atrophy.

The earth is wasting away not just because of poor choices by its inhabitants, but because it carries a virus known as sin. “The earth will wear out” (Isaiah 51:6), no matter how much we reduce, reuse, and recycle, as explained by God himself after Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, “Cursed is the ground because of you” (Genesis 3:17). We live on an infected planet.

Look for delivery not by deifying the earth.

The earth is not our mother. The earth is as dependent on God, the maker of heaven and earth, as we are. Without his constant care it would crumble. “Christ is the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth and under the earth, visible and invisible … He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:15-17). Therefore, our Savior God is fighting off the earth’s curse and holding it together for a purpose. Delivering us, and it, from sin.

Notice God’s goodness and mercy in sustaining the earth.

As he does best, God will not run away from the problem of the earth’s curse but confronts it with mercy and might – while it serves his purpose. “He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work. He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate” (Psalm 104:13,14). The earth’s cycles and the laws of nature are none other than God’s operations, and continue only as a result of his doing.

Direct those looking for God to see him in the earth’s created order.

Gaze at a beautiful sunset and you see the glory of God. Count the stars and you are admiring the work of God. “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Romans l: 20). Nobody can say that God never reached out for them. He does so in his created earth, so that people “reach out for him and find him” (Acts 17:27) where he fully reveals his ultimate work – the Bible which testifies to the saving work of Jesus Christ.

Manage the earth’s resources with wisdom and faith.

As servants of our Creator, we are less than faithful to him if we abuse the earth and its resources, or ignore scientific study that can help preserve them as best. Faith bids us to do so, however, not as the saviors of the planet but as followers of our Savior who promises, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will ever cease” (Genesis 8:22).

Go green preserving that which lasts.

Preserve the earth as best you can, but not without preserving something more valuable and sustainable. Jesus once said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Mark 13:31). Care for the earth. Care more for your soul, sustained by the eternal words of Jesus. And the thing is, people with healthy souls in healthy relationship with God also want a healthy earth.

PRAYER: Creator God, you once made all things as a gift to humanity, and gave us the responsibility to care for your creation. Forgive our ambitions that ignore the earth’s needs, pillage her resources, and destroy the cycles of life that you want to continue. Lead us to new discoveries that enhance our understanding of your creation and our stewardship of it. Amen.

EVANGELISM ACTION: Pray today about a friend who needs Jesus, and send this to them tomorrow as a “Happy Earth Day” greeting. Engage them in a conversation about it, or ask them what they think about it.