Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and the birds of the air, and over the cattle and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creepy thing that creeps upon the earth. So God created humankind in his image in the image of God he created them; make 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 have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” Genesis 1: 26-28
I really appreciate gardening. When we first moved into our home, I went to buy all my flowers, dirt, and fertilizer. And within two days I had my flower beds full of bulbs, flowers, and ground coverings. Let me just be clear and say, I used to maintain this every fall and springing I would plant vegetables but we have beautiful uninvited deer that enjoy the fruits of the growing before we can. So instead, I just support local farmers through the farmers markets. I do miss digging in the dirt, getting it in my finger nails, and connecting with the source of where my food was growing from. There’s much joy and peace in the dirt.
Good thing God doesn’t stop gardening. Instead, God, thoroughly and lovingly creates and does so with great intentionality. As Ellen Davis, one of my professors from Duke, put’s it, “Up until the creation of the land, Genesis 1 is really very terse. “Let there be light, and there was light” “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters … and it was so.” But then, when the dry land begins to be furnished for habitation, suddenly blessing enters the world. So the creatures are blessed. And of course, we know human beings are blessed on the sixth day, but we often overlook the fact that the creatures of sky and sea receive exactly the same blessing, pru u’revu, “be fruitful and multiply.” And so we are living amongst creatures who are blessed before we even come into existence. I think that’s an important thing to recognize.”
This is crucial for us to understand because as those created with dominion over the earth, it is our responsibility to treat it with our utmost respect and love for God. We aren’t offered the gift of the earth and the power over the things in the earth to abuse and misuse, no, we are afforded such power in order that we protect, care for and treat with great respect.
And the feelings should be mutual for the way in which we treat our neighbors. Our world has a torrid past of different groups of people attempting to exercise dominion over one another, and what we know is that this is just simply wrong and antithetical to the gospel. God creating us all in God’s image is not to be wasted on self-centeredness, systemic oppression or structural/institutional violence. Rather, the image we are created in has formed us to be people who see, honor and value the worth of our neighbors and our world.
Power. Power in our world has become an idol that has many intoxicated and addicted. And again, this is antithetical to the way in which God has ordered and created us. God created us to love, care for, and join with one another to raise our voices and bodies to glorify God. The day to day most tangible way we may offer praise back to God is by respecting and continually working to provide holistic care for earth and one another.
This week forward let’s work on mastering the way we walk with the earth and one another through love, compassion, and thanksgiving, so that in all we do we glorify God. We are better together.
Ellen Davis on, OnBeing with Krista Tippet, June 2010