• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Shop
  • A Rocha Intl

A Rocha USA

A Rocha USA

  • About Us
    • What We Do
    • Who We Are
    • Contact Us
  • Get Involved
    • Events Calendar
    • Join the A Rocha Community
    • Tackle Plastic Pollution
    • Take Climate Action
    • Wild Wonder Curriculum
  • Donate

Why Didn’t Jesus Talk About Creation Care?

A Rocha USA / August 6, 2012

 

By Dave Bookless, A Rocha Advisor for Theology and Churches

“If creation care is so important, why didn’t Jesus speak about it?” The question wrong-footed me at first: after all, when Jesus summed up the Law and the Prophets he said, ‘Love God and love your neighbour’, not ‘Go hug a tree’!

Sand Partridge (Ammoperdix heyi) © Marcel Holyoak

“Look at the birds…” like this Sand Partridge (Ammoperdix heyi) © Marcel Holyoak

However, the deeper I look at the Gospels, the more convinced I’ve become that it’s the question that is wrong-footed. Here are four rapid reasons:

  • How can we love God and our neighbour without caring for creation? Loving God means loving all that God created and sustains in love. Loving our neighbour means nurturing the good earth on which human flourishing depends.
  • Things Jesus never talked about: Jesus was silent on many subjects Christians treat as important: attitudes to abortion and homosexuality (Jesus never addressed either directly), democracy, slavery… The point is, Jesus treated the Old Testament as God’s word, and so should we. He never revoked the creation command to look after God’s world and its creatures. Rather, he fulfilled the Genesis vision of humanity reflecting God’s image in our relationship with creation. Just as the first Adam (literally ‘made from earth’) was told to tend and keep the garden, so Jesus, the Son of Man (the son of, or second Adam) appreciated and cared for creation’s gifts. He based most of his parables on nature’s wisdom, building on the Psalms, Proverbs and Job in seeing nature as a commentary on scripture.
  • It’s not just what Jesus said, it’s what he did, and who he was. In calming the storm, Jesus showed his authority over nature’s forces. He was, as John 1 puts it, the Word who existed from the very beginning, who spoke creation itself into being. He was, as Colossians 1 reminds us, the One by whom and for whom all things were made. No wonder that his birth was accompanied by shepherds leaving their sheep to worship one whom the angels spoke of bringing ‘peace on earth’ – literally, God’s shalom throughout the created order. No wonder that his death and resurrection were accompanied by earthquakes, as creation reacted to the Creator overcoming death and decay, and to the hope that creation itself would be set free from decay (Romans 8).
  • Actually, Jesus did talk about creation! A few examples:

— ‘Look at the birds; look at the flowers.’ Earnestly study nature to discover your place in God’s world. Just as Adam took each species and named it, so the second Adam urges us to learn from God’s book of works.

— ‘God so loved the…?’ Whilst theologians argue about the exact meaning of ‘world’ in John 3:16, there’s no argument that God’s love encompasses all creation and Jesus died and rose so that all things in heaven and earth might be reconciled to God.

— ‘On earth as in heaven.’ The Lord’s prayer teaches that God’s Kingdom rule is to be earthed in the realities of this physical world.

— ‘Preach the Good News to all creation.’ Mark 16:15’s version of the Great Commission couldn’t be clearer. Our mission is to proclaim and demonstrate Jesus’ Lordship so that all creation points to him as Creator and Saviour.

Following Jesus is about letting him be Lord of all. His birth means all material creation is blessed. His death and resurrection defeat the laws of entropy and decay, and inaugurate the new creation. Creation care is essential to following Jesus.

Filed Under: Creation Care, Environment, Gospel, Planetwise Blog, Theology Tagged With: A Rocha, A Rocha USA, Dave Bookless

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Categories

  • A Rocha
  • A Rocha Arts
  • A Rocha Canada
  • A Rocha Ghana
  • A Rocha International
  • A Rocha Kenya
  • A Rocha Portugal
  • A Rocha USA
  • Advent
  • At Home
  • Au Sable
  • Autumn Ayers
  • Ben Lowe
  • Birds
  • Brittany Michalski
  • Bugs
  • Campus Chapters
  • Central Oregon
  • Central Texas
  • Church
  • Citizen Science
  • Climate Change
  • Climate Stewards USA
  • Climate Stewards USA
  • Community
  • Conservation
  • Core Commitments
  • Creation Care
  • Creation Care Camp
  • Dave Timmer
  • David Taylor
  • Dirt
  • Dr. Howard Snyder
  • Dr. Robert Sluka
  • Easter
  • Ecology
  • Economics
  • Ecosystems
  • Education
  • EEN
  • Election
  • Environment
  • Environmental Education
  • Extinction
  • Farm
  • Flo Oakes
  • Florida
  • Food
  • Forest
  • Global Partners
  • Gospel
  • Grant Shellhouse
  • John Elwood
  • John Stott
  • Kilns College
  • Leah Kostamo
  • Lent
  • Liuan Huska
  • Living Planet Report
  • Love Your Place
  • Marine
  • Mark McReynolds
  • Nashville
  • NW Washington
  • Partners
  • People
  • Peter Harris
  • Planet
  • Planetwise Blog
  • Plastic Pollution
  • Pollinators
  • Programs and Projects
  • Race
  • Recycling
  • Redemption
  • Resources
  • Restoration
  • Robert Campbell
  • Sabbath
  • Sandra McCracken
  • SoCal
  • Species
  • Theology
  • To Repair the World
  • Uncategorized
  • Washington DC
  • Wheaton
  • Wild Wonder
  • Worship
  • YECA

Archives

  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • August 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • August 2021
  • June 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • September 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • May 2019
  • December 2018
  • October 2018
  • August 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012

Tags

All Things Reconciled arocha A Rocha A Rocha Marine A Rocha USA arochausa biodiversity birds Christmas citizen science Climate Change Climate Stewards community conservation creation Creation Care Creation Care Camp Dave Bookless dirt environment Environmental Education explore place arocha arochausa saltandsteel trees nature farmersmarket gospel Gratitude hope International Coastal Cleanup John Elwood Kellie Haddock loveyourplace Love Your Place lynden Microplastics Toolbox Miranda Harris New Year nwwashingtonarocha Peter Harris Redemption Restoring people and places Richard Louv Sandra McCracken Seasons Texas A Rocha Tom Rowley Wild Wonder

Footer

A Rocha USA
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • ABOUT US
  • What We Do
  • Meet the Team
  • Careers and Internships
  • Contact
  • RESOURCES
  • Blog
  • Join Love Your Place
  • Multimedia
  • GET INVOLVED
  • Donate
  • Events
  • Join Our Community
  • Take Climate Action
  • Marine Conservation
  • Camp Curriculum
  • Projects

© 2016 A Rocha USA Environmental Stewardship

A Rocha USA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, EIN 31-1751509
  • ECFA |
  • GuideStar |
  • Privacy Policy |
  • Faith Statement