Going Deeper

As a side track, I have been re-evaluating some of the things I was taught in the church growing up.

One of the primary things lately has been the story of creation and how that affects our view of things. When I was taught that God made the world in a literal seven days, I believed it. When science points to the age of the earth as being more than 6,000 years old (evidence of geological layers, just to name one example), it was explained away with the statement that God created the earth with age. How ridiculous. Does that line up with the character of God? Is God a deceiver?

Anyway, that being said, it is fairly obvious to me that we, as western thinkers, miss out a lot on the true meaning of Scripture simply because we do not understand Jewish way of thinking. We had a teaching at church not long ago about 'the fall' of Adam and Eve. Thankfully, our pastor has the sense to try to see Scripture through the Jewish lens, and his teaching on Genesis 3 made a whole lot more sense to me than the standard 'Adam and Eve wanted to be like God.' Digging into the Hebrew, the concept is more that man has chosen what is good and bad (right and wrong) for himself rather than submitting to what God says is good and bad for us.

With this in mind, it explains to me why the earth is cursed because of us. The earth is cursed because we keep trying to decide what is right and wrong, what is good and bad... Nearly every time that man comes up with a better idea how to improve on creation, it wreaks a sort of destruction. Instead of paying attention to the way nature replenishes itself, man decides to grow one crop on the same strip of land over and over again. The soil is depleted, weeds spring up, the crop is more prone to pests and disease, and man resorts to the use of chemical to try to correct the problem. Instead of learning from nature, we try to outsmart it.

Throughout the Bible, God points to nature repeatedly to teach us about who He is. Romans 1:19-20 talks about how God reveals Himself to us through nature so that we are 'without excuse'. The further I get from the destructive influence of man, I see a beautiful creation that speaks volumes to me of the nature of God.

Going deeper still, the Bible teaches that all life is from God. In Psalm 104, God is still actively involved in creation. In verse 30, 'they are created' when He sends his Spirit, and the face of the earth is renewed. If God still cares for his creation, gives it life, and wants us to see Him through it, who are we to treat it so flippantly?

Which brings me to the end of the Bible. Another concept I was taught in church that I am re-evaluating... This whole thing about the earth being destroyed by fire... Granted, it says there will be a new heaven and a new earth, but the Bible also says that we are new creatures in Him... through redemption. I don't recall a literal burning of my body as He has been making me new. (Pardon the sarcasm.) Is it possible to redeem the earth?

All of this has caused me to see things in a new way, and has strengthened my desire to put some of my efforts toward a restoration of the earth, to look deeper into creation to see more clearly the face of God, and learn how he wants me to live.

And a side note...
I am learning to more greatly appreciate our different roles in life. It can sometimes be frustrating to see apathy in others where your own passion lies. It can feel condemning to hear another's convictions where you yourself have not felt convicted. The good news is that there is grace and that we are meant to follow different paths. I have a friend who is pursuing a sales based business that I would rather be dunked in a vat of boiling oil than be involved in. Many of you, I am sure, cringe at the idea of pulling weeds or shoveling manure. It's all good.