This year my church decided to celebrate Earth Day. We have a whole week lined up. We’re playing bingo with prizes for those who try a new earth-friendly practice. We’re sharing resources and ideas for how to better steward creation. And we’re praying prayers of thanksgiving, confession, and supplication.
Here are four reasons why you should celebrate Earth Day, too.
1. God Calls His Creation “Good”
When we open God’s Word to us, the first thing we read is, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). The first thing we learn is that everything around us, the world in which we live, was created by this all-powerful God. And when God surveys all that he made, he declares, “Behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).
We experience the goodness of God’s creation today when we admire the beauty of a bright blue sky, enjoy a handful of ripe blueberries in the summer, or harness the resources of creation to build a home to keep us warm in the winter.
And like a great work of art reveals something about the artist, so “the heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). Earth Day is an opportunity to marvel at the goodness and glory of God.
2. God Calls Us to Steward His Good Creation
The first command we see God give to man is, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28).
Creation is not our possession with which to do as we please. It is God’s, and God calls us to steward it to his glory and for the good of his creatures.
After God created the Garden of Eden, the Lord put man in the garden “to work it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15). We have that same responsibility to steward the earth today.
Whether it be committing to reducing your plastic use, eating less meat, or carpooling or riding a bike, Earth Day is an opportunity to learn how to better steward God’s good creation and commit to doing so.
3. Our Sin Affects God’s Good Creation
When Adam and Eve sinned against God, God tells Adam, “Cursed is the ground because of you” (Genesis 3:17). The fall brought a curse not only to man but also to all creation. It was “subjected to futility” and is in “bondage to corruption” (Romans 8:20-21).
Because of the fall, the earth does not always produce the fruit we desire or give us a return for our labor. Droughts can cause a poor harvest. Insects can destroy a crop.
But it’s not just the sin of Adam and Eve. Our sin today can have a direct effect on the earth, too. As one example, when our plastic waste isn’t managed responsibly, it can end up in the ocean and cause great harm to marine ecosystems and wildlife populations. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), “Each year, billions of pounds of trash and other pollutants enter the ocean.”
And the way we treat the earth affects others. Our actions and inactions can cause harm to other humans and future generations. We fail to love our neighbors when we neglect to care for the environment in which they live.
Earth Day is an opportunity to recognize, confess, and repent of how our sin has affected the earth and in turn our fellow man.
4. God Promises to Renew All Creation
The good news is that God has promised to one day renew all creation.
The apostle Paul tells us, “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:19–21).
One day God will bring all creation to its proper glory, and there, God’s people will dwell with him forever. Earth Day is an opportunity to set our hearts and hopes on that day. So let us celebrate and steward God’s good creation, looking forward to the day when it will be fully renewed and redeemed.