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Who Destroyed Nature?
Psalm 104:1-9
Andy Nagahara
Today’s sermon is the third in our series, “Praise the LORD, O My Soul” from Psalm 103 and 104. We will be focusing on chapter 104 verse one to nine.
Let’s start by reading the whole passage.
1 Praise the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty.
2-3 He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind.
4 He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants.
5 He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
7 But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;
8 they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them.
9 You set a boundary they cannot cross; never again will they cover the earth
1. The world that God created was perfect and complete
I don’t think anyone is under the illusion that our world today is the same as the world God created in Genesis chapter one or the one the psalmist is describing here.
Given all the suffering we see in the world as a result of natural disasters, accidents, and crime, it is not surprising that many people doubt God’s existence and Bible teachings, and ask, “If there is a God, why do such terrible things happen?”
Were the events in Genesis a lie? Does God actually exist? These questions have fueled many of the philosophies and ideas that exist today.
This questioning is not limited to modern times. These questions about God were asked during Jesus’ time on earth and during the psalmist’s lifetime.
In contrast to his psalm, the psalmist was living in a time of great suffering and trials, similar to our own struggles today.
In our psalm today, the psalmist sings of the essence of the world God created. And this essence has not changed from past to present.
God created a perfect world. One in which there was no need for despair.
This psalm reflects a truth that our circumstances can’t change. This, of course, doesn’t mean that what we see around us isn’t reality.
What we see around us is a hurting, ailing society that has rebelled against God and his will.
The responsibility for our current reality lies with us, human beings.
2. The sin of human beings who were entrusted with the care of the world
The story of Creation in Genesis, in which God created a world that was pleasing to him, is followed by a story about people named Adam and Eve.
Their story is often described as one of failure and corruption, but it is also one that reflects a very basic part of human nature.
Traditionally, Christianity has used the label of “sin” to describe human nature.
What we need to make clear is that sin is not limited to certain actions.
Laws highlight certain actions and judge them according to societal norms to determine whether or not they are a crime. That is why something that is a crime in one country might not be in another.
In contrast, the Bible’s idea of sin is not limited to certain actions, but rather, it is a part of human nature.
It is our selfishness and our egoism. The Bible describes this as our tendency to turn our backs to God and become our own gods. The story of Adam and Eve exemplifies this tendency.
If we remain oblivious to our self-centeredness and act according to our desires, we will not be able to care for the world in the way that God intended.
Those with power will continue to exploit nature and other human beings for their own gain, resulting in destruction and death.
Destruction of nature, exploitation, discrimination, and domination are all a result of our sinful nature.
So some might wonder why God didn’t create human beings without this characteristic.
This brings us to the realization that human beings have a will.
In order to care for the world that God created, human beings need to have a “will.”
We were created in the image of God, not in a physical sense, but as beings who have a will.
If human beings were created without a will, and were robots that would do whatever God desires, the author of Genesis would not have written that human beings were created in God’s image.
God wanted to reveal his will in our world and created us as its manifestation.
In Genesis chapter 2 verse 7 it says, “Then the Lord God formed a man[c] from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”
Unlike the other animals that were created, human beings became “a living being” because God breathed into us the “breath of life.”
That is, God breathed his spirit into us and we became living beings in a spiritual, and not just a physical, sense.
Sadly, many people are unaware that they have been blessed with a spiritual life and our world reflects this reality.
3. It is not too late
So has God given up on humans as caretakers of the world and is he preparing to bring an end to everything?
No, God has not abandoned humanity.
In Genesis chapter 8, during the time of Abraham, God declares that if there are 10 righteous people in the evil city of Sodom, he would not destroy it.
More recently (I don’t know if something that happened 2000 years ago can be described as “recently,” but compared to the time of Genesis, it is relatively recent),
God revealed himself to the world as Jesus, as “the way, the truth, and the life,” and invited us to follow him.
No matter where we’ve been in the past, we can respond to Jesus’ invitation and change our life.
People who have changed the direction of their lives, raised their voices, and taken action, have been able to take steps to create a more just and equal society.
It is a long journey, but God sustains, encourages, and walks alongside those who would participate in his work of bringing to this world the “kingdom of God” which brings us ultimate peace.
What we can do is to praise Jesus and to follow him every day.
If Jesus feels far away, we need to encourage our souls to “Praise the LORD,” encourage one another, and dream and work together to bring the kingdom of God to completion.
(Prayer) God, we thank you for being the Lord of our world.
Thank you for loving us, trusting us, and revealing yourself to us in Jesus so that we can follow you with confidence.
Please have mercy on us and guide us in the way we should go as we struggle to understand your will and in our selfishness, end up hurting and destroying the world that you gave us to rule.
No matter how our world appears to us today, please help us to place our trust in your control, and to follow you.
Please help us to notice the needs of the people around us and to help each other.
Please give us the strength to meet the needs in our world.
We thank you, put our hope in you, and pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Summary
We are living in a world experiencing a pandemic, climate change, and natural disasters. Some people blame God for natural disasters, believing that he is ruthless or that he is using them as a punishment. In reality, the responsibility lies with human beings who have failed to manage and protect the world that God created and entrusted to us. Our tendency to give in to our selfish desires rather than seeking God’s will has made our world a difficult place to live. Those who follow Jesus can help to shape the world into something that God originally intended.
For Discussion
1) How is the sin of humankind related to our individual sin?
2) Why did God entrust us with the care of the world even though we are not perfect?