Should I Hug a Tree Today?
It's EARTH DAY!
So, what does that mean for me? Hug a tree? Worship Mother Earth? Be at one with Nature? Vow to re-cycle more? Go on with life as though it's any other day?
I'm assuming that most of you are going with that last option. But, is that the best option? Maybe not.
During my 60 years of life I've noticed a few things. One on the list is that Christians are, for the most part, reactionary beings. We RE-ACT a lot better (or at least a lot more often) than we ACT. Earth Day is a wonderful example. We associate Earth Day with all those liberal, tree-hugging, Mother Earth-worshipping, Environmentalist whack-job, everything we do is killing the planet and I need a cause to live for and if you don't have my cause as your cause you're an idiot, save the whales weirdos. So, when Earth Day comes around our #1 priority is to RE-ACT by simply not being associated with "those people". We don't ACT. We simply RE-ACT.
The interesting thing about that...if you read through the gospels, that is exactly the opposite of how Jesus lived. He didn't care who he was or was not associated with. Even his reactions were premised on his earlier actions. When he reacted to the Pharisees, it was, for the most part, based on their earlier reaction to him. Jesus was an ACTER, not a RE-ACTER.
So, what's your point, Tom? I'm glad you asked. My point is that we, as Christ-followers, need to take our cues, less from the world, and more from our Father. What did He tell us? Well, he never said "Hug a tree" or "Be nice to your Mother", (THAT Mother!). But He did say, "fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” In other words, be responsible for, watchover, care for, His creation.
And just exactly how do we do that? Well, I guess part of that would include NOT destroying it. Maybe there's something to this idea of not destroying the rain forests, and limiting the way we pollute the waters and the lands, and maybe recycling more and filling landfills less. I haven't gone over to the Dark Side...I'm not worshipping Mother Earth...I'm just suggesting we might want to obey our Father, who made the Earth. That's all.
That's all I got. Gotta go hug a tree!
So, what does that mean for me? Hug a tree? Worship Mother Earth? Be at one with Nature? Vow to re-cycle more? Go on with life as though it's any other day?
I'm assuming that most of you are going with that last option. But, is that the best option? Maybe not.
During my 60 years of life I've noticed a few things. One on the list is that Christians are, for the most part, reactionary beings. We RE-ACT a lot better (or at least a lot more often) than we ACT. Earth Day is a wonderful example. We associate Earth Day with all those liberal, tree-hugging, Mother Earth-worshipping, Environmentalist whack-job, everything we do is killing the planet and I need a cause to live for and if you don't have my cause as your cause you're an idiot, save the whales weirdos. So, when Earth Day comes around our #1 priority is to RE-ACT by simply not being associated with "those people". We don't ACT. We simply RE-ACT.
The interesting thing about that...if you read through the gospels, that is exactly the opposite of how Jesus lived. He didn't care who he was or was not associated with. Even his reactions were premised on his earlier actions. When he reacted to the Pharisees, it was, for the most part, based on their earlier reaction to him. Jesus was an ACTER, not a RE-ACTER.
So, what's your point, Tom? I'm glad you asked. My point is that we, as Christ-followers, need to take our cues, less from the world, and more from our Father. What did He tell us? Well, he never said "Hug a tree" or "Be nice to your Mother", (THAT Mother!). But He did say, "fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” In other words, be responsible for, watchover, care for, His creation.
And just exactly how do we do that? Well, I guess part of that would include NOT destroying it. Maybe there's something to this idea of not destroying the rain forests, and limiting the way we pollute the waters and the lands, and maybe recycling more and filling landfills less. I haven't gone over to the Dark Side...I'm not worshipping Mother Earth...I'm just suggesting we might want to obey our Father, who made the Earth. That's all.
That's all I got. Gotta go hug a tree!
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