There are at least
four good reasons for Christians to be involved in Conservation:
Love
Christians believe that God
made the world. When we make something, whether it be as life-changing
as giving birth, or as quick as sketching a picture, we care about what
happens to our creation. So it's easy for us to understand that God
cares deeply about all his creation. The Bible makes this clear in many
passages, e.g. Psalm 50, verses 10 & 11, where God says "every
animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I
know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are
mine". Studying, thankfully enjoying and caring for the world that
God has so wonderfully made is an obvious way for us to show our love
for him.
Obedience
Christians are called to
obey God in every part of their lives. In the Bible, we find that the
first wish expressed by God, concerning men and women, was that they
would rule over "the fish of the sea and the birds of the air,
over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that
move along the ground" in a way that reflects his own image. Not
just his power, but his unselfish love, mercy and tender compassion.
Tragically, because we are human, and sinful, our rule has often been
characterised by cruelty, greed and short-sightedness, but this was
clearly not God's intention. If we desire to obey God, then we must
look for ways in which we can be good and responsible stewards of the
natural world.
Justice
The environment is an issue
of justice. Often it is the poor who suffer first when the environment
is damaged.
Hope
Those who care about the
environment can easily become depressed. The news is so often profoundly
disturbing: the destruction of forests, the disintegration of coral
reefs, the extinction of species, over-fishing, global warming and a
multitude of other disasters and gloomy forecasts can cause us to wonder
if there is any point in even trying to take action. But the Bible provides
much-needed grounds for hope. The Old Testament prophets Isaiah and
Hosea foretell a time of human and environmental harmony. In the New
Testament, Jesus is described not just as the Saviour of fallen mankind,
but as the one for whom all creation was made - and as the one through
whom all creation will one day "be liberated from its bondage to
decay" (Colossians 1 verses 15-17; Romans 8 verses 19-23). We do
not know how all this will be accomplished, but we are given motivation
and hope. We can be sure that the Almighty God who created and sustains
his world wants all his people to be actively involved in his great
plan to redeem the whole of creation.
This is just a brief introduction
to the biblical basis of A Rocha's work.
(Article taken from this
page on the A Rocha website )
Find out more
about A Rocha here
