Devotions Inspired By Beyond BlessedSample

REDEEM THE EARTH
by Josh Morris      

“Don’t worry, it’s just a rental,” I yelled as we descended down a rocky path in a small SUV that was beginning to make new and interesting sounds. We came up on an old mining town in Colorado with limited roads as we made our way to our next adventure. It was a small town, the kind where the locals can tell you’re a stranger right away, and the feeling of being an outsider was clear to us and them. This feeling is familiar to everyone who has ever traveled—the excitement of discovering new lands but the unmistakable, nagging feeling of being slightly out of place. 

Many times these themes are used to describe us as Christians. We are here in this temporary, fallen world, and our real home is somewhere off in the floating clouds with streets of gold and mansions for everyone, and if we can just hold off a little longer, then we can get there one day. The truth is, this view of heaven is damaging and not what the Bible teaches. We aren’t just here on earth to wait for heaven. We can’t simply leave this place trashed and depleted as we wait for our real home. God created the earth and placed us, whom He created in His image, here for a purpose. And just like He wants to redeem us, He wants to redeem the earth—and He wants to do so through you and me. With that in mind, does your stewardship of the earth redeem it or damage it? 

Let’s take a moment to reverse the common, flawed thinking I mentioned above. Instead of believing that we are guests in this flawed place, let’s remember that God placed us here to be the image bearers of His goodness and grace. Do our actions and how we treat the earth reflect this truth, or do we treat it like “just a rental”? It is owned by God and given to us as caretakers so let’s treat it as such. We are co-laborers in this land, not visitors, sent here by God Himself to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth.

PRAYER
Lord, thank You that Your kingdom is here now and not some other distant place. Make me an image bearer of Your goodness and grace in the way that I steward the earth. Help me to take better care of it as I follow You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

MEMORY VERSE   
Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. PSALM 37:5 (NLT)