Sea levels are rising.
Global sea level rose about 6.7 inches in the last century. The rate in the last decade, however, has nearly doubled that of the last century.
Global temperatures are rising.
The number of record high temperature events in the United States has been increasing, while the number of record low temperature events has been decreasing, since 1950.
Ocean temperatures are rising.
The top 2,300 feet of ocean is showing warming of 0.302 degrees Fahrenheit since 1969.
Glaciers are retreating almost everywhere around the world – including in the Alps, Himalayas, Andes, Rockies, Alaska and Africa.
Do you think when humanity really embraced the Industrial Revolution we knew that moving from predominantly agrarian, rural societies in Europe and America would ultimately have an impact on glaciers and the levels of carbon dioxide in the ocean?
No. Most likely it was not at the forefront of their minds. They merely were trying to make the world a better place by advancing. By shifting to powered, specially-purposed machinery, factories, and mass production, the iron and textile industries (along with the development of the steam engine) played central roles in improving systems of transportation, communication, and banking. People’s standard of living was improved for some, and there was an increased volume and variety of manufactured goods.
BUT . . . today, we feel the impact. Literally.
With an 81-degree day on Valentine’s Day in Mooresville, NC in 2017, it’s hard to argue with global warming. And – crazily enough, that wasn’t the only day with that kind of heat! The temperatures in January and February were bizarre!
In The Shack when Mack was clearing the garden with Sarayu, he asked about “all things being good.”
Admit it! Perhaps you, like me, has questioned the goodness and necessity of spiders and snakes . . . ants, gnats, flies. Mack had those same thoughts . . . so he asked!
Check out the reply that Young writes,
“You humans, so little in your own eyes. You are truly blind to your own place in the creation. Having chosen the ravaged path of independence, you don’t even comprehend that you are dragging the entire creation along with you.” (p. 138)
Throughout this series we’ve talked about pain, working through our feelings about God and good/evil, disappointment, anger, and tragedy. However, one thing we tend to skip over is the way we treat God’s creation.
When we read the Genesis story of creation, we see that creation was indeed GOOD! Yet, over the spans of history, the millions of years that humans have existed, we have misused that creation and abused it. In our independence we do drag creation along with us.
How could we make a difference in that now? What if we became more intentional about recycling, not buying things in wasteful packaging, using less energy, pursuing solar power, etc. We can’t necessarily right “our” wrongs, but we could begin moving forward in a new and different way.
“In the beginning God created . . . light, darkness, sky, sea, land, stars, sun, moon, fish, creatures of the sea, animals of the earth, human beings . . . God looked over everything he had made; it was so good, so very good!” Genesis 1