Genesis 1:26-31 (The Message)
God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image,
make them reflecting our nature so they can be responsible
for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle,
and, yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves
on the face of Earth.” God created human beings,
he created them godlike, reflecting God’s nature.
He created them male and female.
God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill earth!
Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
for every living thing that moves on the face of the Earth.
Then God said, “I’ve given you every sort
of seed-bearing plant on Earth and every kind
of fruit-bearing tree, given them to you for food.
To all animals and all birds, everything that moves and breathes,
I give whatever grows out of the ground for food.”
And there is was.
God looked over everything he had made;
it was so good, so very good!
It was evening, it was morning – Day Six.
God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill the earth!
Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”
“With great power comes great responsibility.”
~Spiderman’s Uncle Ben
Luke 12:48 (The Message)
Great gifts mean great responsibilities;
greater gifts, greater responsibilities!
Genesis 2:15 (NIV)
The Lord God took the man and put him
in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
How are we doing?
What Matters Most, Sweet, p. 163.
For Jesus, the goal of life was Shalom,
the natural state of creation before the Fall.
“Peace on earth” is an image of the harmonious
relationships of the Triune God in the kingdom of heaven
granted as a gift from God. If the Spirit produces in us
relationships of harmony and peace,
then our relationships with nature and animals
should be characterized by harmony and peace.
…God has put us here to be in harmony with
what is around us
to be in relation with creation.
Genesis 9:8-11 (The Message)
Then God spoke to Noah and his sons:
“I’m setting up my covenant with you including your children
who will come after you, along with everything alive around you
– birds, farm animals, wild animals –
that came out of the ship with you.
I’m setting up my covenant with you that never again
will everything living be destroyed by floodwaters;
no, never again will a flood destroy the Earth.”
Small things done with great love can change the world.
The 3 R’s
Renew Recycle Reuse
[Video from the Pet Blessing service on 6/21 can be found here]