Glory be to Jesus Christ!
A lot of abuses have happened over the “dominion” of man over nature that we read about in Genesis today. Many ecologically-minded people find fault and scandal over this supposed licence to do with nature as humanity sees fit. And I don’t really blame them. Abuses have happened, but this is not God’s fault.
Human beings are special. We are made in the Image and Likeness of God, on a journey to become more and more godlike by the Lord’s grace. It is for this reason, that we have been endowed with the gift of the Lord’s Image, that we are to protect all life. We are stewards not owners. This is only magnified in the New Testament where we discover that through baptism we will become heirs to the Kingdom- an even deeper relationship and responsibility to care for what our Father has given us.
If human beings are simply animals there is no reason to protect the environment. There is no real reason to protect anyone or anything but “number one.” It is through this very “dominion,” through our relationship with the Creator and Our Father that we treasure creation and responsibly care for it. Let us continue to thank God for imparting His Image and Likeness to us and “till and protect” this treasure He has gifted us!
Glory be to Jesus Christ!
