Green Christians?

Every spring, many churches observe Soil and Water Conservation Sunday. It is a special day, often observed in rural congregations because of the close attachment that many farmers have to the land. As fewer and fewer of us make a living by farming, there seems to be a certain amount of diminished appreciation for the most basic of conservation practices.
That diminished concern can be observed in the comment of one young teenager in a large city who never made the connection between milk and cows. He thought milk came from the corner store as though it simply appeared in the dairy case. Before we laugh, we need to recognize that fewer and fewer of us have any significant exposure to the operations and efforts that bring us our daily bread, our fresh vegetables, our meat, our fruits and juices, or our many products made from trees and other fiber sources.
Land that once was ground for fertile fields is diminishing in acreage each year as cities swell and land is converted into subdivisions and office parks. Pavement covers what often served as a resource for food production and now creates significant storm drainage runoff and excess erosion and potential flood damage. As farmers learned to keep land from being destroyed, many others of us take such matters for granted. We ignore the necessity of appropriately disposing of everything from car batteries to used motor oil. We oftentimes see car tires tossed or see household garbage dumped in streams or along roadways. Chemicals from manufacturing and construction are often poorly handled and end up polluting wildlife habitat and reservoirs.
Does it matter? Check the number of health warnings associated with eating certain fish in our large tributaries and lakes. Visit the Environmental Protection Agencies list of toxic waste sites needing cleanup. Consider the ever increasing demand for purified water sources due to pollution, excess bacteria in wells and other water supplies due to sewage runoff and poor or insufficient sewage treatment options. Look at the numbers of endangered waterways filling with silt and sediment due to erosion and construction runoff.
Studies that measure global warming have given clear warning that without significant changes, average global temperatures can rise as much as 10 degrees in this century, melting large areas of arctic ice and creating entirely new landscapes along the coastlines of the earth. Hundreds of species of sea, plant, and animal life can be dramatically affected. Our persistent use of fossil fuels in every higher quantity, world-wide may create cataclysmic climate change. Does it matter? Without question. But does it matter that as Christians, we recognize God’s call to be stewards of the creation that He gave us? The time is now for all of us to recognize that stewardship begins in all the decisions we make about living in our world. God calls us to responsible stewardship, not to destroy the world.
Stop and think about your stewardship practices. Plant a tree. Recycle your newspapers. Consider giving account one day for your choices. Thank God for the daily opportunities to use wisely the resources over which you exercise stewardship. As you do so, remember to use your voice and your influence to encourage others to recognize that we share this planet with a world of people like ourselves who like to eat, sleep, live and breathe. Let’s show them God’s love in the way we take care of what He has entrusted to us.
“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” – Genesis 1:31 NIV

The Slow-Food Movement

When Jesus entered the home of Mary and Martha, there arose a “family dispute” when Mary sat and listened to Jesus while Martha busied herself with taking care of preparations for the meal and guests. Jesus chided Martha for her failure to recognize the importance of “presence” and “learning” in the midst of her busyness.

Today there are many who speak of our overemphasis upon speed in the specific concern to have food available in rapid fashion, to be consumed in rapid fashion, for the purpose of pursuing the next “important” work of the day. Those who follow the “slow-food” movement relate to a concern that moves from human need to health and needed social contexts for sharing life, to diet and nutritional benefits, to family and relational opportunities to learn and grow.

“Slow-food” has in a fashion, become a watchword for those who might recognize the true value of savoring the elements of preparation of a meal, and while doing so, might invite other family members to enjoy conversation and exchanges regarding their lives. The benefits and joys of expressing thanks and comprehending the true blessing of beautiful fruits and vegetables and savory dishes prepared with loving attention to detail --- simply and assuredly opens the way for a richer expression of appreciation for life. It matters that we live in a world with many demands and challenges, but like Jesus warned Martha, our busyness alone should not exclude the recognition of those important things that matter most.

Families, friends, teachers, special guests and those who might open up our minds and hearts to new life and joy are worth our time and attention. As Jesus entered the house, he was worthy of Mary’s focus and listening ear and comprehending heart.
Slow-food may sound like a simple way of expressing the value of “taking time” for many things, but it also connects well to the matter of receiving those things from God that he provides for our nourishment and spiritual growth each day. Slowing-- reading the bible for careful learning and attentive listening; slowly- breaking bread and sharing time with loved ones and friends around the table enriches our lives with the wealth of shared experiences and the delights of learning from different perspectives; slowly –acknowledging with thanks to God our blessings…is worth the time and then some.

Family Meals

Miriam Weinstein has written an interesting book entitled, “The Surprising Power of Family Meals.” The basic focus of the book relates the benefits of regular family meals on the health and well-being of the individuals in the family. With all the obvious challenges that many face in making such a practice a part of their family agenda, the arguments for doing so are most convincing.

Families that spend regular time with one another at family meals have better communication and children have a time when their parents are “available” to them. It is a time for sharing the events of the day, the upcoming responsibilities or obligations, the reminders about what is happening in each person’s circle of daily activity.

Weinstein notes that there are strong favorable results attached to family practices of having regular family meals including: fewer incidents of substance abuse in children who have homes where family meals are a regular event, better nutrition, fewer occurrences of health problems such as obesity or eating disorders. Even asthmatic children who share family meals have fewer hospital visits than those who do not. Children of kindergarten age who have regular family meals show higher readiness for reading than those who do not have that time with family at the table.

Meal times with family affirm and encourage children in ways that help them to be more resilient in the face of challenges and problems in life. Emotional stability is more favored in those who share family meals together. It promotes a stronger recognition of acceptable moral and ethical behaviors. It encourages faith development, and is a place for teaching basic manners and courtesy. It is an environment that sets the stage for all types of social relationships with others. Family meals matter because family matters and in the face of even the most challenging settings, that time and energy spent in breaking bread one with another is the place were life is well-spent.

Are you making time for family meals at your house? Do you set aside quality time to “be with one another” emotionally, relationally, and in the context of a warm and accepting provision of food and fellowship? If you are missing that in your home, consider making it a priority. After all, the point is not so much the mealtime as it is the priority of family time in genuine interaction and sharing. Meals are just the practical centerpiece for such sharing. Make a place for such in your life and discover the benefits. They are many.

Lost and in the Bible

More than a few contemporary individuals find themselves so unfamiliar with the great narratives of the Old and New Testaments that they find themselves often “lost” when it comes to comprehending the meaning and purpose of many of the biblical texts.
Don’t be dismayed. The Bible is not a book of mystery so much as a book that is underutilized and unfamiliar. Many would like to treat the scriptures as a great source for Bible Trivia and have at times done exactly that. The problem lies in our failure to link the scriptures in their historical context, meaningful application to life, and intentional purposeful revelation of God.

Studying the scriptures is not accomplished in the Reader’s Digest condensed version. Even a good children’s bible story book provides more essential guidance and understanding than many persons on the street have in their knowledge base. Without
attempting to suggest that God cannot reveal himself to those with little scriptural background, it begs the question for us to suggest that mature Christians will not have at best some intrinsic religious experience of faith that connects them to a purposeful and willing desire to follow the way of Jesus Christ. For those with access to the scriptures and who have the ability to read, there is a place of opportunity and the strong capacity for significant personal growth and maturity to be found in the rich words of these holy texts. God has blessed us with a written record of his revelation to mankind. Through the vast variety of literary expressions and the chronicled stories and history of the people of God, we have in the Bible a capable collection of writings that will point us to the way of Christ and the calling of God upon our lives.

Begin with a good study bible and a translation that utilized committed biblical scholarship to bring in the various annotations and study helps a greater understanding of the biblical languages and the meaning of those passages that are in need of interpretative analysis. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead you as you seek understanding and truth. Explore the powerful witness of these words as they speak to your heart and life. 2 Timothy 2:15 was written to a young preacher as a reminder of the opportunity to pursue the truth of God’s witness in the Holy Scriptures. I hope you will read it and learn with joy.

Thinking Theologically

More than a few people figure that the easiest way to find the truth about life is to catch the evening news or to read the morning paper or to listen to the latest on NPR.
The truth that we seek may indeed be a reflection of “the news” but more often the greatest capacity we have for seeing the truth about a situation lies in the opportunity we share to learn from the scriptures in grasping the eternal truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the best expositor of truth we can have. The Holy Spirit is promised to be our guide in discerning truth as we open our hearts to receive that which God gives to us.

Our problem lies in applying the truth we have heard and known about. We can read the Ten Commandments and have a good idea of what they mean. They mean to lay a foundation for civilization, for relational appropriateness toward God and our fellow man. The nature of the entire biblical record is to reveal the witness of God in bringing “light” to our darkness. Yet the reality is, we often head for the dark instead of the light.

Thinking about “God’s way” as often in contrast to “our way” requires both repentance and action. Repentance is the acknowledgement of our own “wrong-headedness before God” and an honest and earnest desire to choose a new direction of faith and trust in Him. But trusting God requires a willing disciple…a student of God’s way and a person looking for the right, looking for the way of the Lord he or she serves.

That’s a good time and place to begin thinking theologically…considering the things of God as they apply to you…every day…in all the ordinary and extraordinary moments of your life. Principles of faith, actions of love, expressions of mercy, acts of kindness, words of blessing and hope, all are meant to be a part of the Christian’s life and witness.

Thinking theologically will cause you to reflect and act in new ways…if you follow the leading of Jesus. It will change you and the world you are a part of. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on you own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 NRSV