Stress Test Devotional May 18
May 18, 2024
GENESIS 9:8-10 | 8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark.
God’s covenant with Noah and his descendants is unlimited in time and universal in scope. Since it is generational it will incorporate new participants and needs to be renewed and re-appropriated by each human participant. But it also includes, by divine fiat and declaration, all the rest of the living creatures! Notice that this is a kind of radical environmentalism. God makes promises and keeps faith with all life, not just homo sapiens. He also makes the covenant three-way, bringing himself into ongoing, permanent relationships with humankind, and bringing us into a relationship with all our fellow creatures. The ark has been left behind, but the dream of men and women living harmoniously with other creatures and the created world remains.
What does environmentalism mean to you?
Does this story give dignity and worth to the non-human parts of creation?
