Is God Green?

Is God Green?

Revelation 21
1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.”
5And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

All this rain and lightning we’ve had is freaky. A farm manager told me yesterday that parts of northwest Iowas have had a total of 13 inches of rain in August. Trees are falling over because of the soggy earth. And the corn falls over in a good wind. Is this normal?

A longtime friend, a retied banker, asked me if I thought global warming was for real. He had just watched the Al Gore movie and wanted to know what I thought. As we sat after our golf game was rained out, (2” fell in less than an hour) I truly wondered not only if global warming was real, but if God was green, that is, if God was doing anything about bringing the world back into atmospheric balance.

John’s Revelation notes that God will make all things new. The Greek, translated “new” does not mean “out of nothing” as in creation. It means “renew” as in taking something and re doing it. Refreshing it. Notice in this reading that the new Jerusalem comes down out of heaven from God. The earth does not go to heaven, heaven comes to earth. Heaven comes to the land of the humans

Notice that it is God who takes the initiative. God takes the initiative and comes to people with love and renewing power—even perhaps, when we are unwilling.

Even, perhaps, when the world is in ecological disarray. God enjoys making new things, as in creation. But now, God is re-newing things. God is green, are you? God is green, do you want to join in?

--Fred