Here's to the care and restoration of our earth:

HAAPPY EARTH DAY!

"The biblical concept of peace embraces personal peace
with God, peace in human relations, peace among nations
and peace with God's creation."
- Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective, 1995

I recently reread the excerpt that I posted in November from the Cry for Suffering and was touched again by the truth and beauty in it. Since Earth Day is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for our environment, what more fitting day to reflect on whether or not we as individuals are at peace with creation?

A reminder:
Because we believe that God has created all and that which was created is good, we believe in loving stewardship of the physical world:

As images of Christ, we are co-creators with Him, taking care of that which has been given to us, being active in creating and forming instead of consuming and destroying. The world is connected, no matter how much we try to separate it. All that we have comes from the earth. And so we learn to see the connections between living and eating, eating and working, working and loving. Life is sacred, revealing its beauty, pointing us to Christ and His Kingdom that is growing around us and in us.

As followers of Christ, we enter into the world and see its beauty, wanting to conserve and create more of the beauty of the world for those who come after us. This stewardship might mean driving less. It might mean not using air conditioning or turning down the heat. It might mean buying less and having a smaller variety of foods. It might mean planting a garden or taking fewer showers. It might be political or economic involvement that struggles for conservation. Those things are not an end in themselves but are a testimony to our hope of redemption.