All of CreationSample

Endangered Species: The Plants and Animals on Our Watch

Did you know we’ve identified around 1.2 million different living creatures on the planet? But incredibly, it’s estimated that there may be as many as 8.7 million or more in existence. Basically, for every living creature we know about, there may be five or six more we don’t know about!

Unfortunately, many of these species go extinct every day, often without us even knowing about it. The causes can be natural, but the current extinction rate for species—the speed at which different animals are disappearing from our planet—is now tens to hundreds of times higher than the usual rate.

What are endangered species? Endangered species are plants and animals whose group numbers are shrinking as they move closer and closer to extinction. Once an endangered species is gone, it leaves an empty hole in its habitat—the home it shares with other living things. It can no longer do the special job it once did to keep the ecosystem balanced.

Sometimes another creature in the habitat can step in and perform the needed position, like a backup player waiting on the bench to enter a sports match. But as we lose more species, the pool of available replacements dries up. This is why having a lot of different species around—also known as biodiversity—is so, so, sooooo important to the planet. The natural world thrives when it’s bountifully biodiverse.

As we lose each species, the biodiversity of its habitat lessens, and the stability breaks down. The benefits that ecosystem provides—like clean air, water, food, medicines, and recreation—are then at risk.

Biodiversity and the many different kinds of life on earth show off the endless creativity of the Maker, who made every living thing through and for Jesus (Colossians 1:16). How cool is that! Every plant, worm, chipmunk, and flower—whatever you might see during your daily walk—was made through Jesus. Each one has a godly charm that points right back to Christ.

There’s actually a fancy word for this that gets tossed around in Bible schools. It’s called haecceity (pronounced heck-say-ity), and it means the “thisness” of any one thing. It’s what makes your favorite book or T-shirt different from all the other books and T-shirts that look like it in the world.

The truth is that every created thing—every animal and plant and person and bit of creation—is unique and original, made to be the way it is by God Himself. And the way God created every little thing says something to us about God, just like a work of art tells us something about the artist.

Romans 1:20 says, “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” Each species is a part of the puzzle of God’s glory in nature and should be kept safe and loved, simply because they were made by God.

God cares for every living creature He has made. He made every single one—including you!—unique. (Haecceity!) We honor God’s creation by doing our part to take care of it. God has entrusted His creatures into our hands. Think about that for a minute. It’s a big responsibility. God is calling us (you!) to safeguard the ways He’s made creatures and creation to flourish.