Where is God's Creation in the City?

Living in a big city and spending much of our time indoors at school and work can create barriers between us and God's creation. Many of the things with which we interact are the invention of the human mind. Buildings, cars, computers, etc. all of these are conceived of and made by many people working together.

So where is God's creation in all this? What relationship do we have with that creation?

Well of course we as human beings are part of God's creation and our ability to invent and build and create is a wonderful reflection of the image of God the Creator that is within each of us. But our lives touch creation in many other ways.

God's creation is impacted by those things we make as humans: buildings and cars and computers. We can make choices about how or whether we use these things that are based on our commitment to the Fifth Mark of Mission: "To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and renew and sustain the life of the earth." Becoming more informed about the effects of our decisions and making choices that safeguard God's creation is well within our power as communities, families and individuals.

But beyond the distant impact of our decisions, the natural splendor of God's creation still confronts us and finds its way into our world of human inventions: a thunder and lightning storm, the weather in far off places affecting the kind of food that is available to us, our relationships with pets and other animals, the many plants that grow within our city in gardens, parks, along streets and even through the concrete.



Where does God's creation break into your city life? How can you safeguard these parts of creation?