The theme of this edition of The Big Picture is “The Nurture of Nature.” One quickly smiles at the fitting literary ambiguity of the phrase. Shall I write about the way we humans are called by God to nurture nature, to care for God’s creation? Or, shall I write about the many ways God’s creation provides nurture to us? Actually, by writing about animals, I will be able to write about both perspectives at the same time. For, when we dedicate ourselves to nurturing animals, God will use that expression of care as a conduit to convey graces of many kinds to us.

Let us consider the idea of “nurturing.” The connotations are many, such as teaching, protecting, encouraging, nourishing, guiding, comforting and loving. Nurturing is providing the context for health and growth, safety and thriving. Read all of these again, and realize that just as we can nurture animals in all these ways, so too can they nurture us in all of these ways.

Allow me to go a step further and posit that not only “can” we humans offer such nurture to animals, but also we are “called” by God to do so. And, as with any form of calling, as we fulfil God’s desires and purposes, we experience his grace and blessings. While much has been written to explicate the biblical theology of creation care and stewardship, here I will emphasize just two points.

First, the biblical theology of stewardship recognizes the role God intends humans to have in regard to his creation. God’s first commission to humans was to care for both the environment and the animals. This sense of purpose was set into humans before the fall, and remains inherent to the imago Dei. As humans fulfil this calling, we are more fully human. The love and compassion and wisdom of Jesus make this all the more possible for Christians. Christianity should be showing the way to the rest of the world about how to care for the earth and all of its creatures.

     “Then God said, ‘Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over [radah] the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.'” (Gen 1:26 NLT)

The New Living Translation of the Hebrew “radah” as “reign over” is a more helpful translation than the ESV “dominion over” or NAU “rule over,” for these have been taken as grounds for opportunistic, even short-sighted and selfish, uses of resources and animals. But, to be an expression of God’s image, selfless nurture and care is certainly the mandate. The kingdom of God is a place of thriving, not a place of exploitation.