REASON TO CARE

Living on the West Coast, I am constantly surrounded by "Green" messaging.  Bring your own reusable cloth bag to the grocery store and get bonus points.  Bring your own tumbler to Starbucks and get 10 cents off.  Buy local.  Buy organic.  Use less paper.

Last Sunday, our sermon was about what our attitude should be toward creation.  Interestingly, the early church saw people in relation to themselves, each other, God and the rest of creation.  In our small group, we had a lively discussion about this.  On one hand, how does my recycling one tin can make a difference in the world?  And if I'm not the CEO of a large corporation, what say do I have in who can clearcut the Amazon forests?  It seems like one individual can do little to help with this global crisis.

I can appreciate this perspective, but my own stance is this:  If I respect God, I will respect His creation.  My recycling one tin can has more to do with my relationship with the Creator than it does with the effectiveness of the act.  In being careful about my choices and thinking through how I'm impacting the earth, I am honouring the fact that God has entrusted me with this place I live in.  I may not hold an influential position to stop the destruction of rainforests, but I do live in a country that provides facilities and opportunities to be kinder to this planet.  So I will do my best, though I'm far from perfect.  Because at the end of the day, when I stand before the Lord, I know I am accountable to Him and Him alone. 

The earth is not my god (as it seems to be to some people out here...), God is.  But it so happens that God made this earth and called it "good."  So I think I would do well to treat it as such.

"In the beginning, God created... the earth."

~ Genesis 1:1 ~

HOUSE CLEANING AND GOD

Mondays are my clean the house days.  On top of dusting, I do the floors, the bathroom and the laundry.  I find great satisfaction at the end of it all: to look around and see that all is clean.  I especially love it when the sun is out and light fills the house, confirming that dust and dirt are thoroughly gone. It tires me out, but I really am very satisfied.

I suspect that God has the same sense of satisfaction when He cleans us up.  I imagine that when He looks at us and sees that the dirt of sin or false understanding have been removed, that our original colours and beauty are able to shine without obstruction or contamination, it brings His heart much joy.  And satisfaction.

"Create in me a clean heart, O God."

~ Psalm 51:10 ~

BEAUTY FROM THE PAIN

A most curious incident happened at dinner last night.  Tim's parents are in town and they wanted Greek food, so we tried out a place nearby.  The ambience was quite nice and we decided to go for some lamb and some seafood.  We were pretty much enjoying our dinner and joking about who would take the last oyster when Tim decided he would just take a tiny piece of it to try.  No sooner had he popped it into his mouth when "pft!" he spit out a small white chunk of... pearl!  The waitress would not believe that we found a pearl in the oyster.  Apparently, it had never happened before.

Aside from being amusing, I found the appearance of this pearl as strangely timely.  You see, this past Saturday, as I was praying for a friend, I saw a picture of a pearl and the words, "The discomfort will result in beauty" along with it.  It was a message for my friend, but I also think it was a message for me and for Tim.  We are in a place where things are not comfortable and we'd rather squirm out of it.  But I believe that God wants us to persevere.  To allow Him to shape the pain into something beautiful, precious and lasting.

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
       because the LORD has anointed me...

to provide for those who grieve in Zion—
       to bestow on them a crown of beauty
       instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness
       instead of mourning,
       and a garment of praise
       instead of a spirit of despair. 

~ Isaiah 61: 1 & 3 ~