AP

Jeremiah 14:22  Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain?  Do the skies themselves send down showers?  No, it is you, O LORD our God.  Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does all this.

Back in December 2015, about 150 world leaders (apparently a world record!) gathered in Paris to discuss climate change and its predicted effect on the future of our planet.  There is one major problem with this talkfest: I predicted that in the countless hours of rhetoric, with all its high-sounding challenges, accusations and promises in the hope of impressing one another of their deep concern, not one mention will be made of the one, unique factor that lies at the heart of the problem. Here is what I said:

“The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has revealed his infallible truth in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, has made it abundantly clear that he is the Creator of the universe, that the planet Earth and its inhabitants that make up the human race have a special place in his eternal purposes for it, and that he maintains full sovereign control over every detail of the weather.  Throughout Scripture he gives many examples of how he manipulates the weather as a teaching tool.  He deliberately sends floods and droughts and wind and rain and hail to convey a strong message to mankind.

Jesus’ stilling of the storm was a sure sign to the frightened disciples of his divine nature (Mark 4:35-41).  Jesus himself predicted that the warning signs God would use in the lead up to the Day of Judgement when he returned as the world’s rightful King, would include catastrophic atmospheric phenomena attributable to the Creator alone.  God knows all about population growth, carbon emissions, greenhouse gases and global warming.  He has set everything in place to last to the end of time.

Yes, he has entrusted us to be good stewards of these resources and we should be careful, wise and thoughtful in our use of them.  In fact, he will hold us accountable for wasteful, selfish exploitation of them.  But to spend billions of dollars on reduction schemes and talkfests, without dealing with the source of the problem – our arrogance and pride in rejecting our Creator, Lord, Redeemer and Judge, and failing to submit to his revealed truth – is the height of foolishness, and the consequences are as inevitable as they are frightening.”

Well, here we are, seven and a half years later, and the talkfest continues while we watch our children and grandchildren lose all hope for the future.  Why don’t we encourage them instead, along with ourselves, to follow the wise example of Joachim Neander who professed, “All my hope on God is founded,/ He doth still my trust renew./  Me, through change and chance he guideth,/ ever good and ever true./  God unknown,/ he alone,/ calls my heart to be his own.”
– Bruce Christian