Then God said, “Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Genesis 1:26-31, NASB1995
God commanded us from the beginning to rule over all that He had made and gifted to us. He gave it as a good gift to sustain and surround mankind. As His people, we must care deeply for this gift from God. We are called to rule over creation as God rules over us with great love and a watchful eye, nurturing its growth and ready to rescue and restore when destruction threatens its existence.
It’s important to teach the next generation to rule responsibly, too. As an educator, I encourage you to plan and include lessons and activities that will teach your students to care for our world as God intended.
Lord, Show me how I can care for Your creation, on Earth Day and every day. Amen.
Copyright Kathy Branzell.
Kathy has a heart for encouraging Christian educators and currently serves as the President of the National Day of Prayer Task Force. Prior to this role, she was the founder and president of Fellowship and Christian Encouragement (FACE) for Educators.
