God's will is for life, not for extinction

“I’m riding my bicycle to work,” a woman said on a call-in radio program in response to a question about what people can do to slow down global warming. She knew that emissions from gasoline-powered automobiles are considered primary contributors to global warming, and so she was leaving her car in the garage most of the time.

Human actions and their impact on the environment are detailed in the recently released report of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. While many aspects of the report deserve our prayers and prayer-inspired actions, one that stood out to me was that a rise of only a little over 3 degrees of earth’s temperature can result in the possible extinction of almost 30 percent of species within the next hundred years.

That may sound rather abstract, but even if we think only in terms of the creatures that are important to humanity’s well being, it’s sobering. Bees and butterflies pollinate fruit, birds devour insect pests, wild plants and animals are sources of food for people in developed and developing cultures. As I read it, I knew I needed to pray deeply about this report.

One thought that helped me greatly was the spiritual fact that God’s will is always for life, never for death or extinction. And God doesn’t see creation through the lens of matter. According to the Scriptural account of creation in the first chapter of Genesis, all was created spiritually by God, Spirit. This means that is the reality of our universe is spiritual and founded on divine Love, even though this may not be obvious or even recognizable in some places.

Recognizing the eternal spiritual nature of God’s creation doesn’t allow us to ignore threats to the existence of any species, however. A prayer that is probably universal among Christians was given to us when Jesus’ disciples asked him how to pray. Called the Lord’s Prayer, it includes the statement, “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”

To respect God’s will for life, we will want to adopt life-based attitudes and actions. This may involve changes in lifestyle, if that’s necessary, or actively seeking creative ways to preserve the planet and its inhabitants. To accept the thought that reality is spiritual and eternal will help to lift us out of feelings of hopelessness or apathy. Instead of being discouraged by what seems like an inevitable loss of species or a problem that’s too large to solve, we can rest on the foundation that God’s will is for the preservation of life, never for death. Our prayers—and actions prayer may inspire us to take—are an effective way to affirm that God’s will for life can be done and is being done right now.

I get particular inspiration from Jesus’ own resurrection. His enemies certainly wanted to have his life extinguished, but although he was thought to be dead and buried, he arose from the grave, reappeared to his disciples on several occasions, and then ascended. The crucifixion which was intended to exterminate him was thwarted. Spiritual facts, contradicting material appearances, preserved his human existence and his teachings.

This experience reinforces the reality that matter is not the real life of man or the universe. And since God’s creation is spiritual, we actually can say that matter is not the real life of those species that face extinction. Mary Baker Eddy, a profound spiritual thinker, wrote in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “It is a self-evident error to suppose that there can be such a reality as organic animal or vegetable life, when such so-called life always ends in death. Life is never for a moment extinct.”

If God, Life, is never for a moment extinct, then we can trust Life to guide us toward Life-affirming thoughts and actions. We can discipline ourselves to think in life-affirming ways—to love, instead of hate, to be kind instead of reacting in anger, to strive for intelligent solutions instead of short-term expedience. And behind each choice we make, when we pray for God’s will to be done on earth, we will find ways to live with that will—the loving will that doesn’t just affirm the life of animals, sea creatures, and plants but also supports and affirms our lives.

One other thing that comforts me is that however authoritative the report may be, it isn’t the final word. Those losses are not inevitable because we can take steps right now, just in the way we think about creation and respond to it, that will begin to move life in a more spiritual direction. Each of us can do this through our prayers and our individual choices. Some of us may be inspired to become very active in reducing greenhouse gases and other pollutants, some of us may only do a little. But each step will help to change the future and to reveal new ways that God’s will for life is a present, planet-preserving power.

Extinction never part of Life:

Science and Health
309:27-30
 

King James Bible
Matt. 6:10 Thy will