“I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
(Romans 8: 18-25 ESV)
We are living through a season of resurrection and hope – that word hope is used as an acronym for Heal our Planet Earth… and hope is what we cling to in these dark days of war and destruction, global warming and environmental degradation.
I don’t for a moment want to dissipate the darkness and the dilemma or the despair many feel at the state of the world… but I want there to be rays of hope to hold on to – HOPE (H = Heal; O = our; P = Planet; E = Earth). Paul reminds us that what we wait for is a brave new world, a redeemed world, a saved world, a restored world, a world that waits with hope, a hope that is healing instead of decaying. Paul said that creation itself waits with eager longing, waits on the highest hill and in the deepest depths for “the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope.”
Earth Day 2022… resurrection and hope, signs of new life!
God so loved the world – every stick and stone, every bird and beast, every hill and valley, every ocean and tropical forest, every glacier and glade, every microbe and monkey, every man, woman and child – that he gave his only son…
Let us remember that on the day of resurrection – the first Easter – Mary did not mistake Christ for a soldier, a scientist or even a rabbi, but rather a gardener.
Prayer: God, You love the earth You made, the sea and the sky, the animals and the trees, the birds and the bees. You even love the ground under our feet. We thank You for making so many bright and beautiful things—including all of us. You made us all for a purpose. Today help us think about why we’re here in the middle of this bright and beautiful world. We join our voices with the wind and the waves, the geese and the gophers to praise Your holy name. Amen! (Rev. Nancy Cocks in “God’s Good Old Earth”)
Kenn Stright