As global leaders at the UN summit charted a new path for a sustainable future this week, a Finnish youth pastor reflected on shared Christian responsibility in protecting and preserving creation.
Finnish Lutheran pastor and youth leader Rev. Jussi Luoma is a member of the LWF Council, and chairperson of the Committee for Advocacy and Public Voice. Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert
Climate action kicks off monthly LWF Youth series on commitments highlighted at 2023 Assembly
Look around you. Our Earth is groaning. God’s creation and our humankind as a part of it is in pain. In Paul’s letter to the Romans, the biblical image pictures the Earth as a mother, groaning as in childbirth (Rom 8:22). We lack love toward each other and toward this creation. We forget that this Earth is a gift from our Creator and not an infinite resource to be used. We are invited—even obligated —to share God’s gifts with each other, and protect and preserve this creation together. We are the protectors of God’s creation.
We are invited—even obligated—to share God’s gifts with each other, and protect and preserve this creation together. We are the protectors of God’s creation.
Rev. Jussi Luoma, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
In nature, in this creation, everyone is dependent on each other: we need each other. And in the goodness of God there is power to make us want to live more responsibly. There is hope and the expectation for a better future. And in the biblical context hope is not something passive. It is hope that calls us to act for a better world and stand for God’s creation.
The United Nations 2024 Summit of the Future has concluded this week in New York, United States. Within this context, The Lutheran World Federation (LWF), as part of the global Christian family, raised our voices once again to show how faith communities can be powerful actors for justice and hope across the world.
Furthermore, the good news of God’s reconciling and life-giving communion is not meant only for human beings, but Jesus says: “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation” (Mk 16:15). Creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God in hope that creation itself will be free. So, what are we waiting for, let’s get out there.
This post is part of a new LWF Youth monthly theological series called “Global Faith Unfiltered.” It will feature reflections from young theologians on the most pressing issues and topics across their communities, from a perspective of the priorities highlighted at the 2023 LWF Assembly.
