August 24, 2013

Genesis 1:28 — And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

My mind has been running on judgment and testing this week. Perhaps it’s fitting that at the end of the week it has run on to the last judgment.

I fear the last judgment. Does that surprise you? It shouldn’t. You should fear it too.
I don’t fear punishment. I fear that there are rewards piled up for me that I will never claim. But much more than that I fear the lacerating pain of the look in my Father’s eyes as He explains to me where I missed His best for me … where I failed to follow Oswald Chambers hint to offer my utmost for His highest.

I’m starting to feel that God’s instructions in Genesis are one subject I’m going to fail in the final exam. God gave Adam and Eve two instructions — have children, and manage the earth. Well, I’m not to worried about the children bit … that’s really not in my control! It’s the other part that worries me. I can’t help feeling that we’re doing a terrible job of looking after the garden! Now, I don’t feel that it’s my job to fix it all. But I’m saddened when I think of England where I was born. It might once have been William Blake’s “green and pleasant land” but once, long ago, it was a land of mysterious forests where wolves, bears and stags roamed. I’m saddened when I think of this beautiful state of Florida in which I live today. It’s beautiful but dreadfully scarred. We have all but driven the Florida panther into extinction, and the manatee population is recovering only slowly. It is only now that the foolishness of draining the Everglades is being recognized … Was this really what God meant when He told us to subdue the earth and have dominion over every living thing that moved? Elsewhere, the Brazilian rain forests — vital lungs for the world – are being cut down, and we are in danger of driving the great apes, the tigers, and the lions into extinction.
“Now hang on”, I hear the kinder amongst you say, “that’s not your fault Ian. You can’t be expected to take responsibility for all that.” Well, maybe not. That would be taking a grand view of myself. But I’m wondering what I should do — because I don’t think doing nothing is helping.

So I fear the sadness of the last judgment. But it’s still a joyful kind of fear — because I have a promise to hang my hat on! In Isaiah 54:10 The Lord says, “For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.” No matter how much of a mess we get His world into, God is never going to stop loving us … but we might be missing the fullness of what He wants to give us.