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	<em><img alt="" src="{filedir_5}david-warners(1).jpg" style="width: 125px; height: 125px; float: right;" /><em>On January 31st, Au Sable will host a &#39;Missionary Earthkeeping&#39; conference to explore the connections with creation care and missions and development work. In connection with the conference, we are publishing the first of four posts by Dr. David Warners, Professor of Biology at Calvin College, on a framework for thinking about Christian environmental stewardship and its relationship to development.&nbsp;</em></em></p>
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	Webster&rsquo;s Dictionary defines stewardship as &lsquo;managing another&rsquo;s property&rsquo;. &nbsp;Although this term is used in a wide variety of contexts today, when used to describe creation care, the &lsquo;property&rsquo; is understood to be the creation and &lsquo;another&rsquo;s&rsquo; means God&rsquo;s. &nbsp;So the definition I will be working with is that stewardship is simply the managing of God&rsquo;s creation.&nbsp;</p>
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	It is important to note at this point that creation is an absolutely fundamental theme within scripture. &nbsp;The Bible opens with sweeping accounts of how God brought the creation into being. &nbsp;It ends with a beautiful vision of the coming new creation. &nbsp;The original creation and the new creation are like bookends to the whole of scripture. &nbsp;Furthermore, the redemption story itself gains much meaning and purpose when we consider it in light of the deep love God has for everything he has made. &nbsp;If our appreciation for the creation is weak, then our understanding of Christ&rsquo;s sacrifice will be incomplete. &nbsp;</p>
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	So how should we engage the creation &ndash; in our thoughts and in our actions? &nbsp;What is a proper, Biblical understanding of the creation and our responsibility as stewards of it? &nbsp;The scriptures abound with insights, among which I will draw upon five themes, the fifth of which will be further developed into five principles of creation care.&nbsp;</p>
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	An important starting point when considering a proper understanding of the creation is to acknowledge that creation belongs to God. &nbsp;It is not something God created and then gifted to us; we can never truly own or possess, because it does not belong to us. &nbsp;Psalm 24:1 is absolutely clear,&nbsp;</p>
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	The earth is the Lord&rsquo;s and the fullness thereof, the world and all that dwell in it. &nbsp;For he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the mountains.</p>
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	God has placed us within a landscape that does not belong to us, a masterpiece of his own devising, created for his own purposes.</p>
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	Secondly, we must acknowledge that God deeply and tenderly loves his creation. &nbsp;It not only belongs to him, but it is an object of his deep affection. &nbsp;This love is illustrated throughout the scriptures but perhaps nowhere better than in the book of Job. &nbsp;When God finally makes himself known and addresses a beaten down and distraught Job, he (somewhat surprisingly) begins by describing the wonders of his creation. &nbsp;The language God uses at first is rather harsh (&ldquo;Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? &ndash; Job 38:1), but eventually the tone softens and we gain insight to the gentle and loving way that God interacts with his creatures:</p>
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	<sup>1</sup>Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?</p>
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	Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?</p>
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	<sup>2</sup>Do you count the months till they bear?</p>
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	Do you know the time they give birth?</p>
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	<sup>3</sup>They crouch down and bring forth their young;</p>
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	Their labor pains are ended.</p>
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	<sup>4</sup>Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds;</p>
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	They leave and do not return. (Job 39:1-4)</p>
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	This is an intimate God, a God who is present and who tenderly watches over the creatures he has made. &nbsp;God&rsquo;s deep love for the creation is clearly displayed in John 3:16 as well, &ldquo;For God so loved the world that he gave his only son . . .&rdquo; . &nbsp;The Greek word here for &lsquo;world&rsquo; is best translated as &lsquo;cosmos&rsquo;; God loved everything he made so much that he sent his son. &nbsp;Jesus, then, is the ultimate gift, a gift borne out of God&rsquo;s deep and abiding love for his entire creation.</p>
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	Thirdly, God communicates to us through the creation. &nbsp;This dynamic is often described with the &lsquo;two books metaphor&rsquo;, where God reveals himself to humankind both through the scriptures (his special revelation) and also through the created world (his general revelation)(Psalm 19, Romans 1:20). &nbsp;So by paying attention and interacting with the creation we can learn about God. &nbsp;This is a teaching that has been a hallmark of reformed theology. &nbsp;John Calvin writes,</p>
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	(God) daily discloses himself in the whole workmanship of the universe. &nbsp;As a consequence, men cannot open their eyes without being compelled to see him . . . wherever you cast your eyes, there is no spot in the universe wherein you cannot discern at least some sparks of his glory.&nbsp;</p>
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	Calvin&rsquo;s Institute 1.V:6 (P. 59)</p>
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	Consequently, we know the most perfect way of seeking God, and the most suitable order, is . . . for us to contemplate him in his works whereby he renders himself near and familiar to us, and in some manner communicates himself . . . And as Augustine teaches elsewhere, &lsquo;because, disheartened by his greatness, we cannot grasp him, we ought to gaze upon his works, that we may be restored by his goodness.&rsquo;</p>
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	Calvin&rsquo;s Institutes 1.V:11 (p. 65)</p>
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	If we hold to this premise, it would seem Christians should be among those most concerned about today&rsquo;s ongoing degradation of creation since this degradation is increasingly eroding the message of God. &nbsp;We would never settle for someone tearing pages out of our Bible, and in the same way we should not accept the tearing apart of God&rsquo;s general revelation either. &nbsp;</p>
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	A fourth important theme is that all creation gives praise to God. &nbsp;This was God&rsquo;s intended purpose when he created &ndash; that creation would be in relationship with him, and that by living and interacting in its God-intended ways, it responds to its maker with its own offering of praise:&nbsp;</p>
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	Praise the Lord.</p>
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	Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights above,</p>
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	Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts.</p>
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	Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars.</p>
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	Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies.</p>
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	Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created . . .</p>
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	Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,</p>
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	Lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding,</p>
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	You mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars,</p>
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	Wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds,</p>
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	Kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth,</p>
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	Young men and maidens, old men and children. (Psalm 148: 1-12)</p>
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	When we allow and contribute to environmental deterioration we impede this fundamental, God-glorifying interaction; when we work to restore and protect the creation we insure the continual flow of praise.&nbsp;</p>
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	The fifth theme is that this beloved creation of God&rsquo;s is something he invites and commands us to help him take care of. &nbsp;God&rsquo;s instructions to care for the creation are a fundamental responsibility that is embedded within our image-bearing nature. &nbsp;This is not an optional command, but one God requires of us, indeed our species is the only one that has the capacity and the wisdom to undertake such a calling.</p>
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<p>
	<em><em>Read <a href="/news_and_resources/blog/the_five_principles_of_environmental_stewardship#.UYAiobU3uSp">Part 2</a> where Warner&#39;s elaborates on this fifth theme by exploring the five principles of Christian environmental stewardship.</em></em></p>
