Caring for all of God’s Created Creatures
“Then God said, ‘Let the water be filled with living things, and let birds fly in the air above the earth.’ So, God created the large sea animals and every living thing that moves in the sea. The sea is filled with these living things, with each one producing more of its own kind. He also made every bird that flies, and each bird produced more of its own kind. God saw that this was good.” – Genesis 1:20-21
Genesis 1:20-21 gives the account of when God made every creature. All animals were made good by God. After He made them, God put humans in charge of them. As part of His cultural mandate, we are supposed to care for every animal (Psalm 8:6-8). But do we really care for them like we should? Do we care about littering the ocean with chemicals and trash where the sea creatures live? How about caring for the land animals? How many times do we hear in the news about the mistreatment of dogs and cats and of horses?
So, how well do we really fulfil God’s commandment to care for His creation? Animals were created by God and He cares about them. We can learn that He cares about what happens to them in Jonah 4:11. God asked Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh and warn the people to repent because they worshiped the fish god Dagon. If they did not, God would punish them by destroying their city (Jonah 3:1-4). God had pity on the people and the animals and wanted the people to repent so He would not destroy the city including the animals (Jonah 4:10-11).
God cares for the animals like the birds, ants, and flowers (Matthew 6:26) by giving them food, clothing them with leaves and feathers, and providing them with water to drink and shelter (Psalm 147:9). So, we are to follow in His footsteps and do the same. Genesis 1:26 clearly states that we were created in God’s likeness and are commanded to:
"Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the tame animals, over all the earth, and over all the small crawling animals on the earth.”
Prayer of the day:
Dear heavenly Father,
Please help us to care about Your created creatures. Sometimes we forget because life gets busy and we forget about Your command to care for them. Animals are special to You because You made them. They provide us with companionship, food and love. Therefore, we want to care for them in return and since You created them, we want us to care for them as part of Your cultural mandate as well. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!
