Our Relationship With the Rest of Creation

In this blog series, we have taken a closer look at spiritual restoration as it pertains to our relationship with God, our relationship with self, and our relationship with others. Today we'll be looking at what spiritual restoration means when it comes to our relationship with the rest of creation and how God intended for us to interact with His creation. When we look back at the story of creation, we see that the very first job that God gave humans was to work in the garden and take care of it. He gave us purpose. Our purpose is intricately connected with the creation He made. We were made to be stewards of His creation.

"The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." -Genesis 2:15

However, since that first job assignment and the subsequent Fall, our relationship with creation has become distorted by sin and it impacts all areas of our life.

What are some ways our sin impacts our relationship with creation?

-Thinking about ourselves and our own pursuits rather than the negative effects our decisions could bring on the community around us and beyond
-Selfishness and greed lead to unsustainable practices in our communities (ex. deforestation, overexploitation of resources)
-Lack of care for creation negatively impacts the environment and subsequently causes harm to humans (ex. pollution)
-Mismanagement of resources in our workplaces, our communities, and our homes
-Having an unhealthy view of work (ex. working excessively without rhythms of rest, being able and needing to work but intentionally not engaging in it, putting our identity in our work, etc.)

Our relationship between work, purpose, and creation is often distorted from how God intended it to be.  Yet there is hope. We must remember that we are God’s handiwork! He sees us, knows us, and takes special care to craft each of us exactly the way we are because He has big plans for our lives. God is calling us back to His original design. To be in right relationship with Him and know that our identity is rooted in being loved by Him and that we have been made into a new creation. To love one another as He has loved us. To live out our purpose and glorify God in all that we do. To be good stewards and take care of creation.

"For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." -Ephesians 2:10

How does Makarios address this as a Ministry?

In the context of walking closely with families, we see how an individual’s broken relationship with creation can negatively impact the individual as well as their family and the greater community. We also see how individuals and families, especially those in vulnerable communities, can be negatively impacted by the decisions made at a higher level, many times regarding access to resources or opportunities. It is important to recognize the connection between how misaligned views regarding creation and purpose have real-life consequences on a family level but also on a global level. We all have a part to play.

How can a distorted view of our relationship with work, purpose, and creation affect families and communities?

- In the context of vulnerable communities where opportunities are limited, the lack of work and resources makes it incredibly challenging for families to have their basic needs met

-When someone has lost their job or is struggling to find a job, their view of themselves or identity can be impacted and can strain relationships in families

-In places where natural resources have been polluted or access has been limited, the health of the communities and related opportunities are affected

-When work is prioritized over family relationships, this causes relational stress

These are just a few examples that relate to the context we work in but there are many ways we fall short in caring for creation or lack a right understanding of work and purpose. In the same way that God wants to bring about restoration in our relationships, God wants to restore our relationship with the rest of creation as well.

So how do we address this at Makarios? We take our students and their families directly to God’s Word. In fact, our theme for the year is- God’s Original Design: Guiding students and their families to the knowledge of the Original Design for human beings according to the Scriptures.

We cannot control all the factors that affect our communities, but we can give our students the mindset and skills to be able to persevere and adapt to any circumstance in which they might find themselves. We equip our students and their families with a biblical worldview for work and purpose. We equip students with skills that help prepare them for meaningful work as they mature. The economy and job opportunities will fluctuate but God gave us community, creativity, and the ability to adapt. We empower students to be resilient to face the challenges of life by giving them confidence regarding who God made them to be and teaching them that they can depend on God in all circumstances. Through our University and Career Readiness Program, we give our students skills that will help them in the future job market. In our Equipping Program for Churches and Schools, we teach about the importance of putting God and family before work and ministry in terms of priorities. We want to see families thrive and too often an unhealthy view of work/ministry negatively impacts the family.

There is a need for restoration in the community at-large, to take care of the creation God has entrusted us with.

We share this hope from 2 Corinthians 5:17 with the families whom we serve: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"

God doesn't want to restore just one area of our life. God wants to restore us completely to Him, restore our relationships with one another, and reinvigorate our understanding of how He designed us to interact with all of creation. Our goal is that our students and their families would see creation through a Biblical worldview and become part of restoring their communities to look more like the Kingdom of God. Our hope is that believers everywhere can be the light so that God is made known and more will experience the incredible hope, love, and restoration that comes through life with Jesus Christ.

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Did you miss a post in this special blog series on Spiritual Restoration? Check them out by clicking on the links below.

‍1: Defining Spiritual Restoration (What is Spiritual Restoration?)

2: Our relationship with God (The Foundational Relationship)

3. Our relationship with Self (The Power of a New Identity)

4. Our relationship with Others

→5. Our relationship with the rest of Creation←