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Over the last two years, an InterVarsity task force has been hard at work to capture a vision for "creation care" within our national movement. Student Leadership journal introduced the topic this last fall with the article "The Many Shades of Green" (Fall 1997, page 9). Below is a working paper developed by the task force--a mandate for our movement to take seriously God's commission to care for the earth.

INTRODUCTION
The creation and nurture of witnessing communities on the campuses of universities and colleges is a core value of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. This witness must clearly engage the culture with the truth we declare.

The people and institutions we desire to engage with the gospel are already aware of the need to be environmentally sensitive, and some are willing to be moderately involved in common environmental practices that promote "reduce, reuse, recycle." The unique and vital contribution of God's people is to supply a biblical foundation for the stewardship of creation, whose purpose is the glory of God. Creation care is a potentially powerful way to engage the campus with the gospel and enhance the integrity of our witness.

All Christians, including those serving with InterVarsity, need to experience and respond in obedience to our Lord as the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. Creation care is nothing less than Christian discipleship expressed as stewardship of God's beloved possession--his universe and its living beings. Creation care isn't optional; it's an integral part of what it means to bear the image of the Creator (Genesis 1; Romans 1).

IN THE BEGINNING, GOD
Jesus of Nazareth, the only Son of God, is our Savior and Lord. Moreover, all things were made through him (John 1:1-3). Without his involvement, nothing exists. In the Incarnation, Jesus entered creation, humbled himself as a servant and lived among us, full of grace and truth (John 1:14; Philippians 2:6-8). He is the Word of God who spoke the universe into being from nothing and still sustains it (Genesis 1; John 1:1-14; Colossians 1:17).

THE COMMISSION
Our role is first of all to praise and worship God as Creator (Psalm 8), to consider the heavens and the other parts of his creation in wonder and to rejoice in and acknowledge his majesty. Loving God's world also means recognizing and cooperating with the ordering God has shown us in his creation (Psalm 65:5-13; Romans 1:20).

In Genesis 1, God calls Adam to name the animals. This commission to "name" engages Adam in what has since become known as 'science' (from the Latin root for 'knowledge'), but what the ancients would rightly have seen as 'wisdom.' To name is to know and express the essential nature of someone or something. This naming radiates from Adam's exercise of "benevolent dominion," bringing order out of chaos, and reflects the care of the Creator whose image he bears.

In the account of Genesis 1, God progressively creates the universe and the world of human habitation and calls it all "good" or "very good." Those words place supreme value on the creation in all of its dimensions and form an anchor point for a truly Christian understanding of our environment.

Humanity is more intimately connected to the earth than the average Christian usually considers. While Genesis clearly speaks of humanity's rule over the creation, it is a rule reflective of the Creator's care. Adam, from whom we descend, is a dependent consumer charged with a dominion of benevolence. We, as "Adamic care-givers," have been created in the very image of God, an expression of co-regent authority (Genesis 1:26-28).

Does 'dominion' sound too harsh? For many in postmodern culture it does. But God's mandate for dominion is to be consistent with his image; our exercise of dominion is to mirror that of the Creator. His benevolent rule is manifest in creativity, thoughtful stewardship, and a desire to sustain an "equitable goodness" in all the complexities of creation. Thus the intention for the human exercise of dominion, like God's own, is to continue bringing order out of chaos, both preserving and sustaining all that God has made (Genesis 1:28-31). The mandate for creation care, like that for faithful and loving family relationships (Genesis 1:28), is not an optional concern for those who want to live a life consistent with the image of God. For Christians, the Lordship of Jesus must be exercised in ways that reflect that image.

SPOILING A GOOD THING
The idyllic obedience in Eden's garden was too soon forfeited for a fraudulent promise. Not content to bear the image of the Creator, human creatures hoped to gain the power of the Creator (Genesis 3:1-6).

The Scriptures recognize that because of people's rebellion against God, creation remains under strain and no longer reflects God's purpose or intention for humankind (Genesis 3:17-19; Psalm 104:27-29; Romans 8:20-22). The evil that people do to one another and the abuse of nature's resources reduce the earth's capacity to support life. People of every generation and culture bear responsibility for this degradation (Hosea 1-3; Psalm 107:33-34; Isaiah 24:4-6).

The prophet Hosea reflects the consequence eloquently: "There is no faithfulness or loyalty, and no knowledge of God in the land . . . therefore the land mourns, and all who live in it languish; together with the wild animals and the birds of the air, even the fish of the sea are perishing" (Hosea 4:1-3). The prophet Ezekiel also expresses God's extreme displeasure with the way we have treated his creation (see Ezekiel 34:17-18).

Disobedience fractured the lines of relationship that make up life under divine blessing. Man and woman are alienated from God, from each other and from the life-sustaining earth. Alienation is illustrated by the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden, the curse on the earth making it resist our toil for bread, and the conflict between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. The responsibility of humankind to be stewards of creation was not lifted, but is now laced with pain and struggle. Yet for all this tragedy, Eden was not abolished; instead, Adam was banished.

THE GOOD NEWS
But in the grace of God, Adam was not abandoned. The "Second Adam," our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, redeems the lost, heals the broken and promises that all creation will become new.

Jesus of Nazareth was a man in harmony with his creation. He knew the ways of animals, plants and weather. The Gospel of Mark recounts that after the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, he was found "with the wild beasts" (Mark 1:13): not over them, opposing them or harnessing them, but simply in their company as the Messianic fulfillment of the promise of Isaiah 11:6-9. The benevolent dominion of Jesus as the new Adam is a rich part of the Gospel narrative.

The Gospels reveal through the teachings of Jesus that he was keenly observant, knowledgeable and contemplative of the natural world. Images and metaphors of seed, grain, flowers, grass, birds, foxes, sheep and weather came easily to him. His feet knew well the varied terrain of the promised land. He who said, "consider the lilies" had himself contemplated and valued them.

In his life the Gospel of the kingdom was proclaimed, demonstrated and applied to the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve while creation watched and obeyed (Mark 1:32-34, 6:41-44, Matthew 8:26-27). At his death, the earth heaved and convulsed, and the sky mourned darkly. At the climax of the redemptive story, Jesus' death not only rescued Adam from sin, but also creation from its futility. His resurrection signaled not only new life for men and women, but also the hope of ultimate renewal for all God made (Romans 8:19-23).

OUR RESPONSE
Creation care honors the Lord of Life in several ways. It shows repentance, recognizing in true humility that sin hurt more than the human family. Sin hurt all that God called "good." Creation care is also a proper form of thanks to the Creator for entrusting his people with the stewardship of his world. And it is an exercise of humility and restraint, a sacred thrift as creation waits for redemption, even as we eagerly long for our own. There is no redemption apart from the redemption of the entire created order.

Our redemption in Christ signals the coming liberation of the creation's own subjection to futility and decay. In Romans 8:19-23, we may imagine creation happily and expectantly cheering on the fulfillment of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). The redeemed children of Adam and Eve protect and care for the landscape along the pathway back to a renewed Eden nestled in the heart of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:1-3; 22:1-5).

Yet God's creation continues to be degraded and destroyed. So it is all the more important that we take seriously our commission to care for God's handiwork, and be helpmates to one another in covenantal relationships of faith and family (Genesis 1). Indeed our witness to the Lordship of Christ over all creation can be a powerful counter-cultural message in a world where people are mainly valued for what they produce and targeted for what they can consume. We must resist the pressure within our culture to possess, consume and experience more and more and more, especially when exploitation and thrill-seeking continues to degrade and destroy creation.

Stewardship, not exploitation, marks the disciples of Jesus. We are called to live within our means; "there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment" (1 Timothy 6:6). This leads us to a lifestyle not driven by greed, acquisitiveness or need-creating advertising. We are people who care for creation because we know the Creator who called it "good" and who still loves what he has made.
 

Poem:
Green is the
Maker's Favorite
Color

1. Model a healthy simplicity in lifestyle and life pace. The particulars for each of us will be different even if the command is the same. God's people are called to be content with what they have and to be generous in response to the needs of others. Help your peers see the heart issues of contentment, respect, gratitude and sacrificial living. Teach and model an awareness of the cost inherent in personal choices. Sacrifice is a Christian response to much of the world's pattern of excess and self-gratification. (Ecclesiastes 3:12-14; Matthew 16:24-26).

WANTED: Creation Care Corps Want to be part of an informal network of people who influence InterVarsity, their campuses and churches toward creation care? We’re looking for I-V students and staff interested in pursuing God’s agenda of earth care. We would share our thoughts, actions, hopes and needs as we work within InterVarsity to help our chapters be stewards of God’s world. The following staff are already interested in such a network: Robbie Castleman, Florida; Bill McConnell, national office; Dan Reid, IVP; Marty Feldhake, Cedar Campus; Mike Thompson, New York; Linda Olson, Colorado; Jeff Yourison, SLJ editor; and me—Terry Morrison, Faculty Ministries and I-V’s representative on the Evangelical Environmental Network. We would welcome many more students (both chapter leaders and members) and staff to join us. Drop me an e-mail or phone call if you are interested in being part of this network. Terry Morrison, e-mail address: smorrison@ivcf.org, phone: (608) 274-4823, ext. 436.

2. Expose chapter members to world-wide environmental issues through Global and Urban Projects or visits to neighborhoods that are neglected, polluted and exploited (1 Peter 3:11-14).

3. Care for the earth within the context of your present lifestyle. "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" doesn't have to be cliché if thought is taken to consistent effort. Discover the directives of Scripture that take into account the limits of our small planet. Consider some of the ideas in 50 Ways You Can Help Save The Planet, published by IVP®.

4. Learn to discern the necessary from the dispensable, the intentional from the casual, the true from the false. For example, the symbols of the sun and moon adorn many an earlobe, and wearers can mean much or nothing by this. Unbelievers wearing these symbols may be merely fashion-conscious or else sincere promoters of false belief. Discern questionable expression of language and symbol. The Psalms, for example, declare the sun and moon to be God's handiwork. Symbols can create opportunities for witness instead of resentment and fear.

Encourage a realistic understanding of "nature." Star-lit nights, cuddly bunnies and calendar-quality scenery co-exist with earthquakes, disease and predatory animals. Help students respond in faith to the realities of nature, good and fallen (Ecclesiastes 3:10-11; Hebrews 11:3).

5. Prayerfully plan a chapter meeting, concert of prayer, outreach seeker meeting, retreat or conference that centers on the biblical mandate of creation care. (InterVarsity is working on a resource packet that will provide tools for such meetings; we hope to put them up on the Web, so keeping checking Student Leadership journal and our website, www.ivcf.org/slj/, to find out more.

Learn some things about the history of creation care in the Christian church, both noble and infamous. Discover how the Incarnation of Christ reaffirmed the goodness of creation and influenced industry, the arts and environmental attitudes where Christianity took root historically or was rejected (see the bibliography).

6. Celebrate our redemption as creatures in the image of God by investing in and encouraging the inclusion of the arts and the broad application of all spiritual gifts in the functioning of the body of Christ and in the worship of God.

7. Evaluate all work in light of the pre-Fall commissioning of humankind: "How does what I do contribute to righteous relationships and the benevolent care of God's creation?" Help each other evaluate vocational options, education and investments in light of what it means to be a person bearing the image of God. Encourage each other to see the creational and relational consequences of choices and conduct in all academic fields (see 2 Corinthians 10:5; Psalms 23, 149 and 150; Romans 12:6-21).

8. Ask candidates for local, state and national offices about their strategies, plans for funding and intentions for creation care. Encourage your fellow students to join and influence campus environmental-political groups. Find ways to ask good questions, raise theologically informed objections, contribute theologically motivated suggestions and identify with others in their concern for the earth.

9. Model a commitment to Sabbath rest in your patterns of study and work. Take time for recreation as "re-creation" in creation. Promote the value of a walk in the woods or garden over "mall crawling" and vicarious entertainment (Isaiah 58:13-14). Base hope on increased communion with the Creator, not on human successes or increased creature comforts.

10. Pray for the good that is done in the legal system, science, business, church and community, and for those in authority who support creation-care concerns.