Gospel.com Blog

When your family gathers together during the holidays, are there certain discussion topics that are declared off-limits at the dinner table? For example, a number of families I know avoid the subject of politics at family gatherings.

It might seem odd, but my large, Christian family has added another topic to our list of taboos: Creation theology. Everybody’s got a strong opinion (were the days of creation literal 24-hour days? Could God have used evolution as his means of creating the world? etc.), and we’ve learned over the years that dinner-table debates over that particular article of faith create more heat than light.

And so I was intrigued by the latest devotional from Wonder of Creation, which offers a fresh perspective on the opening chapters of Genesis and on the mandate it contains for Christians today. It suggests that the most critical component of the Genesis account is not the specific details of the act of Creation, but the call to Christian stewardship over God’s Creation. That call to stewardship assigns us responsibility for taking care of Creation, and also holds us accountable for harm that we allow to befall it:

…we do know, according to Genesis 2:15 that we are to “take care of it,” and we know according to Psalm 145 that it showcases our Creator’s majesty and that He has compassion on it. Hence the Gulf oil spill disaster is not merely a human tragedy taking the lives of creatures made in His image, nor is it merely an economic calamity: it should be a cause of human grief and shame—in that we have once again profaned the handiwork of God and have also needlessly destroyed the lives of non-human creatures upon which He has compassion.

That’s one reason the prophecy of Revelation 11:18 sobers me: “The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great—and for destroying those who destroy the earth.” None of us knows all the implications of that passage, but for sure we know that mankind’s destroying of the earth will be severely judged.

Most Christians can agree about this call to creation care, but it’s sobering to consider ecological disasters like the BP oil spill not just as breakdowns of energy policy or private business, but as failures of stewardship. When environmental disaster strikes, are Christians at the forefront of efforts to care for the damaged Creation left behind by the crisis?

In the days immediately following the Haiti earthquake, there was much discussion of ways that we could help the rescue and rebuilding efforts. Many Christian ministries and organizations, some of them already at work in Haiti, stepped forward with plans to help.

I’m interested to hear how your own church responding to the Haiti crisis. Did your pastor address it (and the always-difficult question of “how could God let this happen?”) in a sermon? Did your church donate funds, collect supplies, or otherwise get involved with any relief efforts? Are you satisfied with the way your community responded?

Share your thoughts!

Like millions of others around the world, I’m finding it hard to focus on mundane matters this week while news of the Haiti tragedy continues to unfold. I thought it might be helpful to post a few related links for anyone who is wondering how to help:

Mission Network News continues to post updates about relief efforts in Haiti. A remarkable number of different relief and other Christian organizations are hard at work trying to help.

If you’re wondering how to help, the White House has posted information about ways you can contribute to relief efforts. (You might also look into supporting some of the organizations mentioned in the MNN articles linked above.)

Christianity Today has a roundup of Christian organizations—many of them political in nature—that are putting aside their political agendas to focus on helping in Haiti.

TIME also has a list of organizations at work in Haiti that would benefit from your generosity.

If you know of other organizations working in Haiti that could use some help, please list them in the comments below. And please continue to pray for relief effort in Haiti, and consider how you might be able to help!

Please join us today in praying for the people of Haiti after a massive earthquake has devastated much of Port-au-Prince.

News is flooding in regularly to most online news sites. Mission Network News has a short interview with Ron Sparks of Baptist Haiti Mission about the unfolding aftermath of the disaster. If you know of any other Christian organizations currently working in Haiti, feel free to note them in the comments below.