Today, is one of those beautiful Minnesota spring days, when the sky is blue, birds are singing, grass is greening and flowers are peaking through.  The earth is coming back from its winter slumber and all of creation is singing God’s praise.

 My parents were the first naturalists I knew. They cared about the environment and taught each of us to care also. I learned how I used or misused the earth mattered. They taught us about the interconnected nature of earth, and all of earth’s creatures . . . Messages which were reinforced at 4H Club meetings.  In the rural area where I grew up, nature’s lessons surrounded us. During the drought years our neighbor’s crops dried in the field, and the lake that supported our fishing resort dropped to unhealthy levels.  We knew that the earth was a gift. One that we needed to treat with care.

Later I would hear more of the Biblical worldview of  the earth and God’s concern for the planet we live on. The psalmist proclaims, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.” Psalm 24:1       In the book of Genesis, God calls the creation “good” and turns earth care over to us. While the gospel of John has this poignant word, “For God so loved the World.” John 3:16

Which is why I’m confused  by the political divide over the environment we encounter today. It used to be that Christians were united in a concern for the earth and its creatures. We worked together for laws that limited pollution and cleaned up our lakes and rivers. I’m not sure when our collective wisdom changed, or how the environmental concerns got mixed into creation theologies.   As if one who believed God created the heavens and the earth, couldn’t also recognize environmental hazards and their impact on the planet.

I yearn for a time when words like Global Warming and Climate Change are not political fireballs, but words that push us, regardless of political affiliation, into action. I yearn for the time when we so love God with our mind, heart, soul and strength, that we invest ourselves in making a positive difference on the earth’s health.

A difference that heals creation in such a way,  future generations will  be able to enjoy a beautiful spring day, just as I have today.

*A form of this post was previously published as Childhood Lessons on the Environment,  on March 13, 2015