Title: THE FUTURE OF CREATION

Focus: God so loves the world that its future is secure; therefore we shall not despair in the midst of alarming voices.

Function: To encourage the people to view the world and its future in light of God’s covenantal care: God restores; God provides; God preserves. He establishes the work of his hand.

Text: Genesis 9:1-7

If we are to believe former Vice-President Al Gore and other, extremist environmentalists, the future of the world is in our hands. And if we do not make fundamental lifestyle changes, then there will be no future for the world, as we know it today. What do you think?

During the last 20 years or so, many nations and peoples are operating in a near panic mode, frantically calling upon politicians to introduce legislation that is meant to “save” the earth. Thus we have the Kyoto agreement, for example, which is falling by the wayside as more and more nations and individuals are doing their own thing and advance their own particular interests.

The biggest threat seems to be global warming, which, it is argued, is caused by people using and burning fossil fuels. Many so-called experts tell us with religious fervor and confident certitude that global warming leads to climate changes, icebergs melting, and sea levels rising. Others disagree. The voice of panic tells us that we can expect more extreme weather: droughts here, flooding there; And yes, we had better prepare for a stark increase of hurricanes and tornados, along with heat waves, forest fires, and mudslides. And all of this is only the tip of the iceberg called “global warming.”

And the overriding message today seems to be: you and I have the future of the world in our hands. Either we make fundamental lifestyle changes and thus save the world, or we will suffer the consequences and face catastrophe in the end.

No, I do not come to you today with a sermon filled with Republican or Democrat perspectives or solutions to global warming and other perceived threats. Rather, in light of the Scriptures I want to speak into this panic-stricken, shrill mode of environmental alarms. This is my message: God so loves the world that its future is secure; therefore we shall not despair in the midst of alarming voices. As Christians we declare with confidence: our world belongs to God! And we take comfort in God’s covenantal care of our world. God restores, God provides, and God preserves his creation. God establishes the work of his hand.

If anyone ever had second thoughts about the future of creation, it must have been Noah and his immediate family. Saved by God through the waters of the flood, believing Noah and his family have seen the entire known world population wiped out. The floodwaters reduced Adam’s race and offspring to no more than 8 people and an ark full of different kinds of animals. The floodwaters also ravaged and washed the earth for 150 days. Surely, the flood in Noah’s days was a scary, extreme environmental event. Yet, that’s not the end of the story.

Genesis 9 tells us of new beginnings. The washed earth rejuvenates and makes life possible again. The survivor called Noah takes over the role of his ancestor, Adam. Noah becomes the head of the new humanity. And God, who revealed himself to Adam and his offspring as the creator, now reveals himself to Noah as the restorer, provider and preserver of creation. For in chapter 9:1-17 we note two large movements.

For example, in verses 1-7 God comes to Noah and his sons, and God instructs them with a mandate: “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.” In other words, Noah and his offspring have a task on the earth. They are to be stewards of God’s entire creation. It’s the same task that God gave Adam and his offspring.

Along with this stewardship mandate, God stipulates that Noah and his family may sustain themselves with food from the plant and animal world, provided that they do not eat raw meat (meat with the lifeblood of the animal still in it). As Adam could eat fruit from the tree of life but not from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, so Noah and his offspring may eat plants and vegetables and meat, but they could not eat the lifeblood of animals found in their raw flesh.

And just as God pronounced judgment upon Cain for taking the life of his brother Abel before the flood, so the Lord God holds Noah—and us—accountable for murdering other people: “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.” Life is precious. We are accountable to God; the earth and its riches, they belong to the Lord. And so do we.

In the second movement of the story, (vs.7-17) we notice that God reveals himself and his intentions for all of creation. God has a message for Noah, for us, and for all of life on the earth after the flood (vs.17). Listen: “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth…Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” Here God reveals himself as preserver of the earth and of humanity.

Also, God marks his promise of preservation with a covenantal sign—a rainbow in the sky. The rainbow speaks to us of God’s promise to preserve the earth. The rainbow represents God’s Word of promise to Noah and to us. The rainbow gives us comfort and assurance, and it reminds the Lord of his promise to us. God has spoken! God remembers! And all of creation draws comfort from God’s covenantal promise and sign of the rainbow: God so loves the world that its future is secure.

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The story of Noah and the flood gives us solid ground in the midst of the world’s environmental panic and extremism. It also cautions us to live with deep humility and reliance upon God’s covenant promise. This world is not ours. You and I are not in control or in charge of this world. And we are not God. Our puny actions and finite knowledge cannot even come close to God’s infinite power and knowledge. We are stewards of God’s creation.

As stewards of God’s creation we ought to avoid two extremes. On the one hand, we will not join the voices of pride and panic that say: “we must save the planet, lest there be no future for the earth.” We shall not pretend that we are God; we shall not presume that we have the destiny of the earth in our own hands. We shall not bow down to “mother earth” and elevate this creation as our god to be preserved at all cost.

On the other hand, we ought to avoid ignorance, whereby we portray a careless attitude of thoughtless stewardship of the earth. Rather, we shall take seriously God’s mandate to care for the earth, to use its resources responsibly, and to see the earth as a gift of God, to be preserved and to be cherished as our eternal home.

Creation is not an object to be worshiped; it’s God’s gift to us. It’s our home. God has created us to live out our lives on this earth. Creation and creatures go together; so does the Creator. God loves his creation; God loves us as his image bearers and stewards on the earth. All of mankind, all of life, all of creation is the work of God’s hand. And all throughout history, God has shown a concern for the work of his hand. He will not let this creation go to smithereens. Nor will God abandon this planet and let it disappear like a blip on cosmic radar.

I say so in light of the Scriptures. Throughout the bible, you’ll notice that God’s dealings with his creation and with mankind is one of God restores, God provides, God preserves. Peoples and kingdoms come and go; disasters, judgments, calamities and life-disturbing illnesses come and go. Birthrates and death rates—they never end. And woven throughout history and all human events is God’s covenant promise to restore, provide and preserve—and in the end to save completely.

Creation, fall, redemption and renewed creation—that’s the biblical pattern by which we reject the panic mode of the world and its extremist view of saving the world with our own wit and power. God so loves the world that its future is secure; God will never fail to establish the work of his hand.

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How can we say this with certainty? Simple. The Scriptures declare that Jesus Christ has reconciled all things to himself, (Col. 1:20) “whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” By taking on our flesh and human nature, by taking God’s wrath for our sins upon his innocent, sinless shoulders, and by dying and rising from the dead, the Son of God has brought about the work of reconciling all of creation with himself. Jesus is the head of the created, physical world, and he is the head of the new creation, the church—the people of God who seek their refuge and salvation in Jesus Christ.

What so many Christians today seem to forget is this: God does not only save people through his Son, Jesus; God also saves his creation from the ravages and consequences of Adam’s (and our) sins. This is why we read in Romans 8: 19ff. that “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” In other words, God’s salvation of people includes the salvation or restoration of the entire creation.

Some may be surprised about this good news for the earth. “Will not the earth come to an end?” some may ask. What about that text in II Peter 3:10ff where we read “…the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare”? It is this earth, this creation that will continue into eternity. That’s why Jesus could say in his sermon on the mount that the meek are blessed, “…for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matt.5:5).

In the days of Noah, this creation was washed, cleansed by a flood; in the days of the Son of Man, when Christ reveals himself as Judge over all—in those days, the earth shall be purified with fire. As Peter says (II Peter 3:12b) “That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heart. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and new earth, the home of righteousness.” In other words, God restores, God provides, God preserves, and God will totally restore or renew his creation. God so loves the world that its future is secure.

How then shall we live in the midst of alarmist voices? How shall we avoid extremism on the one hand, and ignorance on the other? How shall we as Christians conduct ourselves as stewards of this creation and as followers of Jesus Christ? Here are two biblical pointers:

Live out your particular vocation or calling. Be the best Christian teacher you can be, the best banker, the best student, the best executive, the best homemaker, the best person you can be. Do your work as “unto the Lord,” keeping in mind his mandate of stewardship of the earth.

Also, let us live lives that bring delight to God. Peter says: “…make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with (the Lord).” In fact, we are to “live holy and godly lives” as we look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.”

God restores, God provides, God preserves; He will establish the work of his hands. Therefore the future of God’s creation is secure. We shall not despair, but carry on in faith and perseverance.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.