Wow! Now that is a title. If that doesn't suck you in then nothing will.
We have been going through the Book of Romans in our church. I preach out of the passage on Sunday Mornings, and then our small groups meet and discuss the passage in community, on Sunday nights. I have been pleased with the communal trek through Paul's gospel. We have been led by the Spirit, and he continues to further us in our discipleship.
The passage I am preaching from Sunday, is Romans 8:18-21, which talks of God's plan to not only redeem us, but all of creation. And I find that as I study this passage and others, that we are undoubtedly tied to the redemption of the earth. What I mean is that we are connected, not only to God through Jesus, but to the earth he created for us to dwell on. Yet we don't believe it.
In the church tradition I grew up in, much of the focus of the participants was heaven. The favorite songs to sing were about heaven. The favorite sermons that everyone wanted a copy of were about heaven. And it was an unspoken requirement of every elementary Sunday School teacher that they had to teach on heaven once a month. Heaven was one of, if not the, central topic of the faith.
Of course, this is not all bad. I do believe what Paul said that to be "absent from the body is to be present with Christ". So we must live our lives with our tunics tucked into our belts and our walking sticks ready for Christs return. But what will it look like when he does return? Are we going to float off with angel's wings to a place filled with golden houses, harps, and cream cheese? Or, is God's initial intent his final intent?
It is amazing the simalarities between the Garden of Eden in Genesis 1-2, and John the Revelator's vision of the new Earth in Rev. 21-22. I believe it is clear in reading the redemption story of the Bible, that we will eternally dwell where he first intended us to dwell; here on a redeemed earth. For he created us to be stewards of this earth, and it is our inheritance.
Right before vv.18-21, Paul talks about our positions as co-heirs with Christ. We were created to be stewards of what God had created. We are deeply connected with the earth we live on, and all of its creatures. We are a part of creation, yet we are co-heirs over what God has created for us. Yet, creation itself groans, as if it is pregnant, waiting for the redemption promise to be born out.
N.T. Wright drew this conclusion for our present challenge; "The fact that God's people will inherit the newly liberated creation (someday) ought to energize a proper concern for the created order (now)."
I know, now you are just waiting to see a link to PETA, or Greenpeace. Well, that is not what I am leading too. I am just beginning to believe that we as Christians need to take a look at how we treat the earth and why. Do we believe enviromental issues are useless, because Jesus is returning and we are all going to heaven? If you do believe that our eternal destination will be in a cloud city, than there is no wonder you have no regard for this earth. Why should you. But, if you believe that God's original intent is his final intent, and he made this earth for us, and us for this earth (I am sounding very native American by the way, which is not a bad thing); and you believe that Jesus's life death and resurrection were the culmination and cosmic breakthrough of his kingdom; and you believe that when Jesus prayed "thy kingdom come...on earth as it is in heaven"; and you believe that he wasn't lying when he preached "the kingdom of God is here"; and you believe that the church is the present glimpse of an eschatological reality; and you believe this sentence is way too long; than believe with me the need for us too take the lead on environmental issues. There...I said it.
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6 comments:
MMMMmmm... Cream Cheese... OK enough of that.
Clearly, Br. Ben you are on the right track. From the beginnings of our Redemption with Father Abraham, God has intended us to be both a blessing to all persons/families of this world, and to the world itself.
Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we Your unworthy servants give You humble thanks for all Your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom You have made. We bless You for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of Your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth Your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to Your service, and by walking before You in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to Whom, with You and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.
Good, I am not the only one who still hopes the cream cheese will be in the eschaton.
Thanks for your thoughts and the beautiful prayer.
As always, MIK, you are an encouragement to me.
of course I meant MIT, not MIK.
Of course it will be new. But not new in the sense that the old will be totally destroyed. New in the sense that the curse of sin will be lifted. It will be redeemed from its present "suffering". This holds to the Genesis story. For in the story the creation was not destroyed, or tainted to the point of destruction, but was, as Paul says in Romans, "submitted" to its present state.
Rather than the earth being destroyed totally and a new one being made from scratch, think of the imagery of a prisoner being freed from the chains that shackle him/her down. The earth will be freed. Read Romans 8:18-21 and tell me if you think Paul is talking about an earth that is groaning to be destroyed, or an earth that is groaning to be set free.
I recognize this wasn't the point of your blog, but I will ask anyway:) How has it been working out discussing the Sunday sermon on Sunday nights during community time? Do you break up into groups at church or is it like a lot of homegroups? Just wondering. Peace.
Matt,
It has been working out pretty good. We are struggling to get people to dedicate to the small group structure. I pastor a church that is established and alot of people are private individuals. So, when they come, they also have a hard time opening up. But there have been improvements.
The benefit of discussing the sermon in the small groups is that it connects the whole community, even though they are separate groups. It also furthers the teaching through the groups.
It is a test period for us, but I think we will keep doing it. The hard part is having to write my own small group lessons for each week.
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