God loves all his creatures, even
the ones that seem insignificant (such as sparrows) and He wants us to mimic
his love for all creation. My goal is to eliminate the western way of thinking
that has little regard for the preciousness of all life; to educate Christians
in particular of the value of such things as spiders and snakes and to demolish
their religious predisposition against such creatures. We need to understand
that the creation is our responsibility to care for by the Genesis mandate, and
that we need to manage our natural resources responsibly with respect.
Wastefulness and cruelty are unacceptable in light of God’s intentions for the
world. Ultimately, I want to tell the world about God’s salvation and show them
a life by faith that has a great love, not only for created things, but also for
fellow men. The sanctity of life is undermined in today’s cultures and needs to
be reinstated. I hope that my passion and enthusiasm for the natural world and
the Creator will spur others on to a higher standard of love for life.
Amen!
ReplyDeleteSo I can count in you in? Help others see the value of life!
DeleteI agree as well, Amen. May we all, as Christians, take on a more active role as stewards of what God has created. Mom
ReplyDeleteYa! And besides all the Biblical reasons, morality itself demands that we act. Weather directly (as is often the case) or indirectly, all abuse and suffering to the natural world (like littering, landfills, and air pollution) is caused by man kind's sin. We've destroyed so much, we need to stop. Even do something to heal what we've done.
DeleteHi Caleb, I'm not sure if hatred/fear towards snakes and spiders is totally 'religious' as you call it. It is pretty much universal. We are in a 'fallen state' of the world, so mankind (even Christians) will act like this sometimes. As far as sanctity of life, we have to make sure we don't sound like (and think like) humanists or environmentalists. Animals are animals and are killed and/or used for certain uses, but I agree that killing for killing sake is wrong. I often see people do this when out in nature, and it is wrong. We need to be caretakers of the proper use of all things God has given us. Humanists and environmentalist will put man or nature ahead of God. those things become their God. I know you know all this, but I wanted to make sure you spresent a balanced perspective (within the Bible) as well. I love your passion and enthusiasm for God's creation! Love, your Dad
ReplyDeleteMaybe "religious" is the wrong word. "Cultural" might fit the bill better. The fear of snakes and spiders is far from universal. It's true that some cultures are very afraid of these creatures but most (except for western culture) have a good reason for it because an interaction can actually be very life threatening. However, many cultures (such as Hindus) actually have religiously devout respect for such creatures. Nearly every fear, including that of snakes, weather for a good reason or a bad one, is learned, not natural. It is something we absorb from our culture. And, to put a Biblical framework in for us, we have no reason to be afraid of anything and Jesus instructs to be fearless, because God looks out for us. I would say to those folks who are afraid of snakes, pick something you have a good reason to be afraid of. Like terrorists. Don't be afraid for no logical reason at all.
DeleteOops. I ran off on that one.
I love you Dad!
Caleb