LISTEN ONLINEIcebergs melting. Global temperatures soaring. Yet more species endangered. The ongoing effects of climate change are unmistakeable. Sir David Attenborough warns that “even the most considerate of us” mustn’t forget our responsibilities. The Bible agrees: we are God’s handiwork, created in His image to care for the world He has made (Genesis 1:26).
However, the respected broadcaster then adds, “Let us realise that we are intruders, [and] the natural world, by-and-large, would do much better if we weren’t there at all.”
Experts are seeing the end of the world coming closer—and they are afraid. Voices blame and shame us, demanding that we fix the problem. We must be responsible and conscientious, of course, but the destiny of this planet isn’t actually in our hands but God’s.
This world’s days were numbered the moment sin and death entered it. The apostle Peter wrote of the coming “day of the Lord” when “the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare” (2 Peter 3:10).
Knowing this day approaches shouldn’t stop us caring for our temporary home. But we also look forward “to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells” (v. 13). God longs to give us a true home with Him. As conversations around climate change continue, we can trust His plan: He will remove what is broken to usher in an eternal kingdom, untainted by sin.