Looking after the world, in all the different forms that takes, is a core part of what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

 four reasons:

1

God made the world and he loves it

God is the creator of the world and he thinks it is ‘very good’ (Genesis 1:31).

God is involved with his creation, sustaining it and caring for it (Psalm 65:9–13; Matthew 10:29; Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 1:16–17).

If God loves the world, then we want to love what he loves and take care of it for his sake.

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2

God created us to look after it

We are created beings, part of the whole community of creation, joining together to praise God (Psalm 148).

But we have also been given a special task – to look after the rest of what God has made (Genesis 1: 26–28; Gen. 2:15). This is not an optional extra for a few keen environmentalists, but a fundamental part of what it means to be human.

3

It has gone wrong because of us

It is a sad truth that the many problems our world and its inhabitants face are caused by human activity.

Our acts of human sin have ecological consequences (Hosea 4: 1–3; Amos 8: 1–8).

We bear the guilt for the state our world is in (Isaiah 24: 4–6) and so we have a responsibility to act.

4

God has a purpose for it

God’s plans for salvation involve all he has made (Colossians 1: 19–20).

God has promised that, when Jesus returns, this world will be radically renewed: all that is evil will be destroyed; all that is good will shine out (2 Peter 3: 10; Revelation 21 – 22:6).

Let’s play our part in his work!