In March 2019 Ps Rob shared a messaged called Caring for Creation.

God cares deeply for this planet as it is His handiwork. And His desire is that His Kingdom will come here on earth as it is in heaven. That affects all creation.

Caring for creation is not about being aligned to the left and belonging to some environmental group. It is a mandate that God gave us to care for the environment from the very beginning.

Genesis 2:15 states “The Lord took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”

This message is a springboard

The Bible tells us that we are not to conform to the patterns of this world but to the renewing of our mind. Why is this important?

*We live in a culture of convenience. *

Oxford Dictionary definition of convenience: The state of being able to proceed with something without difficulty. A thing that contributes to an easy and effortless way of life.

Snapshot of some 19th Century Modern Household Conveniences
• Closets in bedrooms, hallways
• Ice-box
• Hot and cold running water
• Flushing toilets

Some of the conveniences we think is a part of everyday normal life, we have to realise some parts of the world can’t yet afford.

Can anyone imagine a life without?

20th Century Conveniences
• Washing machines
• Microwave Oven
• Frost free refrigerator
• Television
• Air conditioning
• Vacuum cleaners

Convenience has been vital to human advancement and even the spreading of God’s kingdom.

CONVENIENCE AS A BLESSING

Convenience is a blessing. A blessing is a material or spiritual benefit given by God to be enjoyed.

God has showered us with many gifts that we don’t merit, but have been given.

In Genesis 1, God creates the heavens and the earth, light from darkness, sky, land and seas; He creates vegetation, seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, sun and star, sea creatures and wildlife including birds, animals and insects.

“… God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31) (NIV)

God took great pleasure seeing his creation enjoy what He had created.

Another picture we see is Christ himself and the Presence of the Holy Spirit. Humanity can enjoy a relationship with God, knowing we are righteous and approved by God, not because of the good works we do, not because we have slayed enough bulls and goats to atone our sins, but because of the sacrifice Christ paid on the cross.

Romans 10:11-13:

… “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Many gifts are conveniently given to us to enjoy.

The problem is not with convenience itself. God takes pleasure in giving so that we can live full lives.

The problem is when we expect only convenience, when we expect faith to be convenient and for everything to proceed without difficulty.

The issue lies when we pursue the love of convenience and we don’t consider the privilege or cost.

CONVENIENCE AS AN IDOL

We face an idol when we love and worship anything more than being who God called us to be and doing God’s will.

When we choose convenience and ease as being more important than what God is calling us to, we face a problem.

The love for convenience is harming the planet. As Christians we have a mandate to care.

Like anything good, the Enemy uses convenience to follow his plan.

Jesus was faced with the temptation of convenience in the wilderness.

First temptation to ease his physical hunger by turning stones to bread

“The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” (Luke 4:3) (NIV)

Turning stones to bread would have been very convenient and tempting in light of extreme hunger.

The second attempt, he tempts Jesus to easily possess power.

“The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours.” (Luke 4:5-7) (NIV)

Satan tempted Jesus to easily possess power by worshiping him. This would have been a far easier outcome than the road that lay ahead for Jesus.

The last temptation was to make it easily known who Jesus is

“The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. For it is written: “He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” (Luke 4:9-11)

Jesus wasn’t here to do Satan’s bidding, He was here to do His Father’s will. Jesus didn’t love convenience more than doing the Father’s will.

Where does our love for convenience stop us from becoming who God has called us to be and doing the Father’s will?

Convenience always comes at a cost.

CONVENIENT FAITH?

Jesus’ gift of salvation to every human on the planet is wonderful. But it wasn’t convenient.

Becoming a disciple of Jesus, following Him will also not be convenient for us.

We are called to partner with God in his incredible work of reconciliation.

Colossians 1:19-20 (NIV) - For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Everything that sin touched that caused seperation, God is unifying through His Son. Seperation was created between:

• Humans from God
• Man and woman
• Families and communities
• Races and ethnic groups
• Rich and poor
• Humans and non-human life forms (including the earth)

In becoming a disciple Christ has given us a responsibility of partnering with Him to reconcile all of these things and to restore.

2 Corinthians 5:17-20a

*Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. *

This ministry of reconciliation is not easy and convenient, it will cost us.

It is not easy or convenient to:

• Forgive our enemies
• Set the oppressed free
• Visit the prisoner
• Be a voice for the voiceless
• Look after orphans and widows
• Care for the environment

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

It is up to each of us to reflect if our love for convenience has become more important than what God is asking us to do. And then pending on what you find to pray and ask for the boldness, courage and determination to act.

Some things I have adopted include:

• Reduce consumption - ask the question do I need to really have this?
• Reduce landfill waste
• Reduce single-use plastic.
• Carry a reusuable coffee cup and water bottle
• Compost food waste

There are a myriad of different things that we can learn from each other in how we can care for our planet.

Check out Bayside Creation Care facebook page

The way we live in Australia and any other western nation for that matter is not sustainable. Our love for convenience is costing the planet greatly. The issues of climate change, animal extinction requires for all of us contribute to these challenging times.

God has given all of us, not just for a few who are passionate about the environment, but all of us the responsibility to care for it, not just take from it.

But it will take some inconvenient measures.

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” - Dr Seuss