We believe that the earth belongs to God, the Creator (Deut. 10:14; Ps. 24:1), and that he maintains an active, sustaining presence in His creation (Heb. 1:3). God is pleased with his creation (Gen. 1:31) and he demonstrates love and compassion toward all He has made (Ps. 145:9,13,17). Creation was declared good before the creation of humans (Gen. 1:21,25), and therefore it has value for its own sake. Nature is a witness to the power and glory of God (Ps. 19,104,148); viewing God’s handiwork leads us to worship the Creator (Rom. 1:20).
We believe that sin results in the destruction of creation (Hosea 4:1-3; Isa. 24:4-6; Jer. 9:10-13 and 12:4, 10-11); therefore, the ultimate solution to the “ecological crisis” can be found in Jesus Christ and His church. Christ’s redemptive work reconciles all of creation to God (Col. 1:20, Rom. 8:21, Eph. 1:9-10), and creation will be completely restored when Christ’s kingdom is established (Rom. 8:23, Rev. 21:1). Because God considers creation worth saving, we must recognize that our work on earth includes redeeming creation from the effects of sin and preserving it as much as possible for the glory of the Creator.
We believe God gave human beings the responsibility of stewardship over his creation. God placed humans in the garden to nurture and care for it, not to dominate and destroy it (Gen. 2:15). God will hold accountable those who destroy the earth (Rev. 11:18). We find in creation what we need to supply our “daily bread”. God has given all of us enough to meet our current and future needs if we wisely use the gifts of creation. This includes limiting our expansion and growth, not treating resources as inexhaustible, and not taking more than we need when others are still lacking the basics of life. It also includes loving our current and future neighbors as we love ourselves (Matt. 22:39) by not polluting our common resources: the land, water, and air.
Any compassionate ministry that is directed toward human beings must eventually come full circle to compassionate care for the environment as well. This is because our own well-being is inextricably linked with the well-being of creation. Especially for the most poverty stricken in our world, the tie between the destruction of the earth and the destruction of their own lives is immediately apparent. The poor suffer the most from the pollution of God’s earth.
