What relationship do I have with the earth? What relationship should I have with the earth?
Those two questions have cropped up in my mind the past year or so. While I’m sure for most people, like myself, answering the first is much more difficult than imagining the answers to the second, I want to put pen to paper (er, finger pad to key pad) what thoughts I have been entertaining the past little while.
My family and I have become, over the years, more and more conscious (and cautious) about how we treat our bodies. We gradually scrapped meat, try to eat only natural foods with more veggies and fruits, work out regularly, blah blah blah. On the same token, in these days, healthier living begets a healthier treatment of the environment. We try to lessen the impact our food makes on our bodies while also going out of our way to tread lighter on our planet. It’s a win-win for all.
But it wasn’t until a Sunday school lesson a while back that I considered why it felt so good to be a good steward of both my body and the earth. As a Latter Day Saint, I believe Christ, with the help of others, physically created the earth under the direction of our Heavenly Father. As Savior of mankind, Christ then inherits the exalted earth, which is where the righteous will dwell throughout eternity, with God and Christ. Our connection to the earth, then, is not as transient beings trying desperately to make our way out in one piece, forsaking this earthly existence in order to embrace a more ethereal one. Instead, our ultimate goal is to return here, to be with our Savior and Heavenly Father forever. It goes without saying, then, that all that is now, was, or ever will be upon or within the earth should be our business. If this is our eternal home, why wouldn’t I want to learn all I can of it–and the people who share(d) it with me–while in this life? This place not only bore the footprints of our Savior during His earthly ministry, but our earth is ultimately a grand expression of His power to create and love, giving us a beautiful planet to learn more about Him, our Heavenly Father, and ourselves. Why not treat it with respect and treasure it–and all creatures that dwell upon it–as another measure of divine love for us all?
I think the answer to that question can be summed up here: the earth, our planet, is not only His creation, but it is a type for Christ. Christ’s body and His earth-creation bear the dual burden of withstanding human frailties and abuse. What evil can’t be measured out upon others, ourselves, or God, humans deal out to the earth–so much so that Christ’s atonement had to cover the planet itself in order to save it from the evil dwelling therein and the terrible toll humanity would take upon it. Indeed, just as Christ’s atonement culminated in His death and resurrection, likewise the earth will experience its own death and renewal, wherein the earth will receive its paradisaical glory, becoming what it was always destined to become: a home for Gods.
What this means to me is my relationship with this earth should, at least in some ways, mirror my relationship with Christ. I want to do everything I can to show my respect for the power and divine role of this planet in the same way as I try to show my appreciation for the gentle and loving nature of my Heavenly Father and Savior. To paraphrase a recent op-ed in the NY Times: a sin against the planet is a sin against God. Perhaps more truth lies in that statement–and beneath our feet–than I previously imagined.
Like this:
Leave a Comment so far
Leave a comment
