In 2004 astronomers trained the Hubble telescope on a tiny portion of our Universe no larger than grain of sand held out at arm’s length against the night sky. For 11 days they recorded images. When the images were developed the sight was mind boggling. That wee speck of sky disclosed 10,000 galaxies, each estimated to hold 100’s of billions of stars. These galaxies at our farthest observable distance are 47 billion light years from Earth. Our Universe is still expanding at a speed faster than the speed of light.
People these days are worried about Climate Change. They say that human actions are opposed to the order of things and that is true. We seem to be the only parts of our Universe that are out of sync with all the rest of it. How then did humans “evolve” into what we are? The whole premise of evolution is that life forms become more suited to their environment yet we are not. Why?
There is an old saying, “If you love something, set it free. If it comes back to you, it is yours. If it doesn’t, it never was.”
God created everything in perfect balance, wonder and glory. He created us and set us free because He loves us. We are free to love Him or not love Him. We are free to allow Him to be God in our lives or to try to make our own gods; ourselves, our money, our government, other people, our Earth…. If we allow Him to be God, He brings us into His divine order. If we choose to step out of His divine order, we find destruction.
Climate Change is just a symptom of sin and it will get worse. The sin is NOT of over-consumption or hurting the Earth. Our sin is rooted in the first two of the 10 Commandments of God. Luke 10:27 sums it up, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind’; and ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself. ” We cannot “fix” the world. I John 2:17 tells us “… the world is passing away…”, Matthew 24:35 says, “Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” We do not have to “save the planet”. All that we see, even 47 billion light years away He created by speaking it into existence. He has said He will create a new Heaven and a new Earth and He is trustworthy and true. (Revelation 21:1-5) God isn’t concerned about the planet, He is concerned about you. He is concerned about your heart and your eternal destiny.
Life is not physical. Life is spiritual. Our bodies will die, the Earth will die. To live forever we must give ourselves back to our Creator. How do we do that? It is a simple act of our will. Everything is His, we can give Him nothing but ourselves. Romans 10:13 tells us, “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” When we are walking with Him, we no longer have to live in fear of anyone or anything because we have a Father that creates billions of stars in billions of galaxies. We also have a Father who loves us more than we can comprehend.
God is the righter of wrongs, the cleaner of messes and the lover of the unworthy. If you are tired of it all, give every last thing back to Him. You can do it right now, right where you are. He hears you. Watch as He transforms your life into beauty. Our God is an awesome God.
Author: Janna Swanson
Janna Swanson helps her husband Paul farm in NW Iowa with their two young daughters. Since 2013 Janna has volunteered her time and energy for her community. She was a key member of the Preservation of Rural Iowa Alliance that protected landowners from the Rock Island Clean Line. From there she helped start and facilitated the grassroots group, The Coalition for Rural Property Rights to help protect community members from industrial wind installations. She is also a board member of National Wind Watch, a 25-year online collection of information of the industrial wind opposition from around the world. Most importantly Janna is a follower of Christ and seeks to help others to know and understand Him. Yet because she is also seeking deepening her own knowledge and understanding she welcomes critical, constructive debate. No one has the corner on truth, we all see “through a glass, darkly”. (I Corinthians 13:12)
