God’s Work is Creation

Modern Christianity

as near to Jesus as the Flintstones were to the Stone Age

November 23, 2022

“Then God said, “I now give to you all the plants on the earth that yield seeds and all the trees whose fruit produces its seeds within it. These will be your food. ³⁰ To all wildlife, to all the birds in the sky, and to everything crawling on the ground—to everything that breathes—I give all the green grasses for food.” And that’s what happened. ³¹ God saw everything he had made: it was supremely good.” Genesis 1 starting at verse 29 CEB

God’s creation is to flourish and nourish all living things. It was designed to be teeming with life. In the beginning God created humans in our image. What our? What does that mean? An existence of heavenly spiritual beings? I would not presume to know, but it does seem a realm separate from Earth. In our image would not mean exactly like us. A Creator God cannot share much with us who are mortal, weak, and can barely create anything by ourselves. All human creations are products of our connecting in ways to collectively create things. In the American history of my era inventors were often celebrated. If taking time to study the more detailed history of inventors and inventions, it quickly becomes apparent that many people’s efforts contributed to each invention. There is now a race to develop quantum computers. Even if someone succeeds in bringing humanity a new era in computing power it will be built on the efforts and minds of thousands of others.

Made this post adding my own thoughts to a comic. When on train track and a train is coming get off don’t comb your hair to look good.

s we approach Thanksgiving everyone’s meal whether vegan, vegetarian, meat-eater, or hunter-gather will consist of food. Mankind has developed our foods over many generations. We do a very traditional meal in our family. The foods we share have origins in many lands. Europe, South America, Africa, Asia, North America, maybe from Australia, but not from Antarctica. No penguins will be served, certainly not at our proper and respectable table. Thanksgiving the holiday all Americans can embrace. People of any culture, religion, ethnicity, or political party can join in a moment of reunion, gratitude, and food. Food is rather integral. Growing up in a non-drinking family I can assure alcohol is not required. The scripture proclaims food is for all life on Earth, everything that breathes. As humans we have a special role. Our role, our responsibility, is to ensure all life is fed and flourishing.

My grandson is three and we learn life lessons from Disney. He loves to sing along with the songs. We do a mean duet to “I Can See the Light” from Tangled. Mean, as in tortuous to those listening, but we do it with enthusiasm. We watched the Lion King last night. James has not insisted on a duet yet, no one is forced to endure our version of “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.” I first saw Lion King the last night the drive in at Burlington Iowa was open. We did not know it was the last night; the theater displayed the message see you next year. By next year it was a Menards. After both Angels in the Outfield and Lion King ended neither Erik nor Alex was awake. We later had the video cassette. After a span of thirty years, I have had some time to reflect on the movie. As we watched it last night, I thought, why did Scar becoming king break the ‘Circle of Life?’ He used the hyenas to gain personal power. Hyenas are scavengers as well as hunters. Scavengers have their place but now lions were hunting for them. As much as some animals seem worthless or gross, as James has started saying, they serve a role in nature. We humans are the ones who have broken nature. We then complain when a pestilence occurs, but it is often of our making.

“Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who will receive good things from my Father. Inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world began. ³⁵ I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. ³⁶ I was naked and you gave me clothes to wear. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me.’

³⁷ “Then those who are righteous will reply to him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? ³⁸ When did we see you as a stranger and welcome you, or naked and give you clothes to wear? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

⁴⁰ “Then the king will reply to them, ‘I assure you that when you have done it for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have done it for me.’”

Our creator God could not look upon our world and not be troubled. We, the shortsighted, for personal gain have ignored the needs of the natural world. It was meant to feed all life. As sea levels rise, we allow the end of life on the Maldives and Samoa and other island and coastal cities. Our intensive pesticides end insect populations and birds. We turn toxic many regions of the land and sea by not being responsible for our own messes. Our behavior and actions are not in keeping with caring for our brothers. If there is no water or clean water, we condemn life on Earth. We were given an Earth teeming with life but our greed, cruelty, and worshiping false gods is destroying it. If one reads on in chapter 41, it is clear the judgment our creator God will have. Our hedonistic lifestyle, our callous disregard for habitat, and the exploitation of people and the Earth will not make us fit to come to the father. Our outward, even our inner deceptions of belief, will not deceive the ultimate judge. Professions of faith, powerful worship and praise will be exposed as empty. No matter how energetically we dance in praise it is dancing on the graves of helpless souls. If we ignore our sins in this world, people on Earth will perish. Our actions clearly prove we are not growing, not evolving, not becoming more like Jesus. Nothing of us is fit to join those in heaven in whose image we were created. No, we are the righteous who went past the traveler; we are not the good Samaritan.

The Earth’s climate or environment is not separate from poverty, mass shootings, racism, or wars of aggression. If you care strictly about life, human life, it is literally threatened by climate change. Our world being out of balance with nature is the dominant threat. It is the root cause of many of our human failings and our suffering.

Some would say why so harsh, you may offend someone. There are climate deniers among us. We suffer from many charlatans among us, but we must speak up. We have suffered from conflict aversion and politeness to get along. Without being true to a sincere recognition of reality we all suffer. Most famines are caused by human activity. We cannot proudly claim a mission trip where we built a small church building and gifted them a bible has accomplished anything. If we refuse to participate in saving the planet, then we do not care if they starve. If we ignore the most threatening aspects of climate, our professions of caring are indeed a noisy gong and a clanging cymbal.

It is not simply ignoring climate change. What concern has been shown for the clean-up or prevention of toxic waste sites. We know examples of people suffering from the hazard placed in their communities. Placed there because they are poor and powerless. It is much easier to praise a wealthy member and ride in the private jet, ignoring the damage corporate activity does. Yes, our creator God cares about life. Human life is integrally entwined with all life. A claim that God only cares about you, the human, and not all life simply expresses a selfish love. It is a soul failing to exist in God’s unconditional love. A human not connecting to the spirit in all living things. Being in connection with all life makes our Spiritual connection with God possible. There are many feasting on the opulence of their claimed salvation and outward worship who will hear, “I assure you that when you haven’t done it for one of the least of these, you haven’t done it for me.” Matthew 25 verse 45 CEB

If people truly believe in the eternal all powerful God, they should stretch their minds beyond themselves. It where connection lies, and souls come together in awe.