A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford
That the earth has gotten warmer in the last few decades is a fact, though some politicians have tried to exploit the danger for their own profit. Should we Christians be afraid of global warming? What is our responsibility?
When you remember that much of the North American continent was once covered by glaciers, and that tropical marine fossils have been found at the 17,000 foot level on Mount Everest, you realize that certainly the earth has already experienced global cooling and warming.
National Geographic
But first things first. It was the God of Creation who created this world. He was its architect and builder. He planned it for the human beings He had created in His very own image. When it was finished, He surveyed it and said, “It was very good” (Genesis 1:31).
God gave clear instructions about His world to Adam and Eve: “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28). This world was to be “subdued,” conquered, by humanity.
And God is very much in control of this earth. He asked Job, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. Do you know how its dimensions were determined and who did the surveying? What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? Who defined the boundaries of the sea as it burst from the womb, and as I clothed it with clouds and thick darkness? For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores. I said, ‘Thus far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!’” God was, and is, in control of His creation.
After a flood that covered the whole earth, God promised Noah, in Genesis 8:22:
While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat, Winter and summer,
And day and night Shall not cease.
God has used drought and famine, floods and hurricanes, storms and plagues, to help people to surrender to Him, but those catastrophes are always under His direct control, His wise, and loving, and powerful control. So, certainly, global warming is also under His direct control.
Do we have any responsibility to protect our environment? Absolutely. For example, God commanded the Israelites in Exodus 23:10,11 to “Plant and harvest your crops for six years. Let the land rest and lie fallow during the seventh year. Then let the poor among you harvest any volunteer crop that may come up.” Israelites were not to use fruit trees to bolster their defenses, They were told how to dispose of waste matter to keep the land clean. So, yes, we are to do our part to protect our environment, but then we must trust the Lord for the rest.
Afraid of global warming? No! Instead, let’s live by believing God’s trust-worthy, proven promises. He really is in charge, and we can trust Him.