Partners in Creation

We are creatures of the Creation.  We belong to it.  We are a part of it.  Nothing we do happens outside of its realm.  From before birth to the last day of our life on this earth and beyond, we are connected to it in a life giving way.  Not only are we a part of all that is created within the Creation, we were created to live in an active and caring relationship with the Creation.  The book of Genesis has words which read, "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till and keep it....out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to man to see what he would call them..."  (Genesis 2:15, 19)      

When I was on the high school debate team back in the '60's, we talked about environmental concerns.  In these days the catch words relative to the care of the creation are framed in the issue of global warming.  In the days of the past the church used to have a Sunday set aside to focus on caring for the Creation.   In these days of being overwhelmed and baptized in the Creation every day, it seems that none of these emphases really capture the way the Creation invites and calls us to participate in a relationship with it.  

It is a focus which requires some effort on our part to see and understand because we live in a culture that sees Creation as a servant more than something with which we are to live as a caring partner.  Too often Creation is seen as the mother of all provision to be used to satisfy every personal whim and need.  With such a view so much is missed.  And, with such a view the Creation and those of us who are creatures are diminished.