Christian Care for Creation
Serving God Here & Now
Matthew 7:21
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
Christians are encouraged to model their lives on the life of Jesus, who offers Christians a perfect example of how to live Christian virtues such as love, mercy, and humble servitude, aligning belief with practice.
Unfortunately, sometimes Christians overlook the importance of the life of Jesus and focus almost exclusively on his death and resurrection. Sometimes the faithful focus on personal salvation at the expense of serving God in this life, in this world. This is not what the Bible has told us that we are to do—we are to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, to serve God in this world, to guard and tend creation, to serve the needs of those most overlooked.
2 Corinthians 5:1
For we know that, if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
History helps to explain how this tension between teaching and practice emerged. Many early Christians suffered from persecution, which reinforced hopes of resurrection and divine justice.
Early Christians were a minority that periodically faced persecution in the Roman Empire, including the Apostle Paul. Paul was imprisoned and, according to early Christian tradition, martyred. Paul’s letters, which became part of the New Testament, reflect his experiences of suffering and persecution: His writings carry an apocalyptic focus on living in the Spirit and eternal salvation. His letters convey an urgent hope that those who endured great suffering in this life will share in resurrection and renewed creation.
Paul also insisted on faith-based ethical conduct, but throughout the Middle Ages, across more than ten centuries, Pauline apocalyptic Christianity offered hope to Christians living through hardship, who could find comfort in the expectation of divine justice and joy in the next life.
Romans 8:18
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.
Paul’s Apocalyptic Christianity
Paul suffered much in life. He was imprisoned and ultimately martyred for holding to his Christian faith, but as he continued the good work of spreading the Gospels, he held out hope for happiness in the next life, through salvation. (“Saint Paul,” Rembrandt van Rijn. Holland, 1657, Wikimedia Commons)
2 Corinthians 4:17
For our slight, momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure….
Martin Luther, Second Sunday in Advent: Luke 21:25-36 (Second Sermon, 1533)
It will be awesome to see heaven and earth set ablaze, and ourselves suddenly carried away and changed.
During the transition from the medieval to the early modern period, Martin Luther drew heavily from Paul’s teachings, developing a strongly apocalyptic outlook. Luther affirmed the importance of doing good in this wrold while incorporating a strong element of Paul’s apocalyptic hope into his developing Protestant theology. Luther focused on Christ’s death and resurrection, the afterlife, and complete trust in grace, with good works understood as the fruit of faith.
Tension arises when Christian practice separates hope for the next life from responsibility in this life in this world, but Luther, while emphasizing the imminent return of the Savior, also preached traditional, core Christian values for serving God here on Earth.
Martin Luther, Commentary on Galatians
The doctrine of good works is not to be neglected.
The Bible tells us that serving God in this world is critical and writings traditionally attributed to Paul affirmed this core Christian responsibility:
Humankind was created “for good works” (Ephesians 2:10).
Paul taught that “love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10).
Christians are called to devote themselves “to good works” (Titus 3:8).
Scriptures show us that while Paul emphasized resurrection and divine renewal, he also taught Christians to live biblical ethics in this world, to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and do good works, which he considered to be evidence of the fruits of true faith in Jesus.
Ephesians 2:10
For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we may walk in them.
Luther’s Pauline Christianity
Martin Luther affirmed the importance of good works but adopted Paul’s otherworldly focus. (Martin Luther, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Germany, 1528, Wikipedia)
Matthew 5:16
…let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
The Eucharist commemorates Jesus’ persecution, the Last Supper, his crucifixion, and the risen Christ—victory over death and the promise of eternal life. In the Middle Ages, Christian hope for salvation was increasingly expressed through the Eucharist (Communion), the blessing and taking of bread and wine in memory of Jesus and the Last Supper and in 1215, the Catholic Church formally accepted the doctrine of transubstantiation. This sacred ritual has become a foundational pillar of Christianity worldwide, a central rite of worship for millions of Christians.
The Eucharist recalls not only Christ’s death and resurrection, but his self-giving love, inviting Christians to embody his life of service in the present world. Jesus worked tirelessly for social justice, focusing his attention on those most marginalized, on those whom others thought too lowly to be worthy of tender care. The Gospels show Christians how to serve God on Earth.
Communion tends to affirm and heighten any other-worldly tendency in Christianity. Despite ongoing injustice and suffering, and the desperate need for attentive care here on Earth, some Christians state that this fallen world is not worth saving, that creation is not relevant to the life that awaits the faithful, which is our focus and our greatest hope.
If Christians overlook the needs of this world more generally, including the needs of humankind, how much more surely will we overlook the needs of God’s many other living beings?
Galatians 6:9-10
So let us not grow weary in doing what is right….
Hebrews 10:24
… provoke one another to love and good deeds….
Christians are called to follow the example of Jesus and serve God here on earth. Perhaps the most foundational message of the life of Jesus is humble servitude. Jesus worked tirelessly, focusing on the needs of those generally thought unworthy of kindness and tender care.
Any tendency toward indifference to earthly needs, perhaps especially when this indifference stems from hope for salvation, stands in stark contrast with the Scripture, with the example provided by our dedicated, loving Savior, who worked to heal this world.
Ephesians 2:10
For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works….
Pope Francis
We all have the duty to do good.
Christians are called to serve God daily amid creation even as we look to the promised renewal of all creation. Moral growth is gradual, unfolding across time. The faithful are invited to ask Jesus to help us to negotiate the challenges of mainstream culture as we seek to hold firmly to core Christian values such as humility, servitude, and gentle kindness—to help us express core biblical ethics here on earth, in daily life.
James 2:14
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Surely that faith cannot save, can it?
Looking to Jesus
Jesus showed Christians how to serve God amid creation. He served the needs of those considered most lowly. ("Jesus, Father of the Poor" at Sorrowful Mother Shrine Chapel, Nheyob, United States, 20th century, Wikimedia Commons)