What does it mean to live a life of care? What are we supposed to care for?
The Message from The Gathering Place, Jan 22, 2023
thegatheringplacefl.org
Careless vs. Care - Pastor's Notes:
Genesis 1:9-13
And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning— the third day.
People desire to live a care-free, care-less life. Careless Definition: not giving sufficient attention or thought to avoiding harm or errors.
Many live and do not think about the long-term consequences. Too often, we focus mainly on beauty or what feels good, living on impulses. How much of our life’s activities are consumed by meaningless activities that spend time for a moment instead of investing in our future?
What if God’s call on our lives was not to live a careful life instead of a careless life? Careful, definition: done with or showing thought and attention.
How can you prepare your soil to receive good seeds? ( Daily rhythms ) What are you planting? ( What kind of media or information are you consuming) — trees help with erosion of land. Where do you need to get rooted? What are some fruitful practices or habits you need to take up in your life?
What is sacred in your life? What do you want to preserve?
We need to care about things that God cares about —the trees and the vegetation on the land are not only good but sacred.
Zambian Theologian Rev. Canon Dr. Kapya John Kaoma.
First, the earth is a sacramental “place of divine mystery” and therefore another form of divine revelation. Second, we have an ethical responsibility to care for future generations by sustaining the life of the earth. —Dr Kaoma argues that our understanding of mission needs to be broadened to include ecological mission, not just social mission for the salvation of humanity.
The western church needs to value church planting the same way we value planting trees— we need to have a holistic understanding of salvation - all creation. Because we are called to care for creation.
Kaoma maintains that God is present on earth, that He made the earth and declared it “good,” that Christ is the unifying force and presence holding the entirety of earth together. Creation reveals the creator; the earth reveals Christ.
It takes the whole world to know the whole gospel. According to this thinking, to participate in destroying the earth is to participate in destroying the revelation of the Creator God. Kaoma moves from talking of “missio Dei” to “missio Creatoris Dei” — from “the mission of God” to “the mission of the creator God,” and he stresses that constantly upholding, renewing, and sustaining the earth is intrinsic to the creator God’s mission. He argues that the prophet Isaiah “was right when he proclaimed God’s salvation as an advent of the new creation, where all creatures will live in perfect shalom.”[9] For Kaoma, climate justice involves joining God’s wider mission for the salvation of the earth as much as it involves joining with his mission for the salvation of humanity.
