Panting For The Lord (Joel 1:20)

 


Friday, September 27, 2024


Psalm 68:1-20

Joel 1:15-2:11

Ephesians 6:1-9


Observance: Vincent de Paul, priest and worker with the poor (d. 1660)


Panting For The Lord (Joel 1:20)


These locusts are a bit of a bother! Joel seems to feel it appropriate to compare the plague of locusts with “the day of the Lord”, an Old Testament catchphrase for what we now call the second coming of Christ – an overstatement, or a double meaning for the discerning reader?


Everything is affected by the plague of locusts, even the poor wild animals. If the locusts are a warning for the people to amend their ways, why do the wild animals have to suffer, too? Here we have an implication of what it means to be a human made in the image of God.


God likes to delegate; God likes to create, and to share that creation with created beings. When he made human beings way back in the beginning, he told us that we would be responsible for the material universe as his representatives. Having Adam name all the animals was one example of this; the explicit command to take dominion was another.


We might not give as much thought to the wild animals as we do, say, our pets or livestock. But they are, nonetheless, our responsibility. And, as Joel seems to suggest, our spiritual health is directly related to their physical health. The closer we are to God and his purposes, the better the life the wild animals enjoy.


There are plenty of wonderful organisations caring for the wild animals, and we should give thanks to God that we are fulfilling his good purposes for creation through them. But we should remember from where this care comes; where the fundamental starting place of our care for creation lies. It lies in the human heart. The heart that loves God. The heart that sees Jesus on the cross, mourns over sin, and sees the empty tomb, and rejoices over the love poured down from on high. The nation that loves God will have the happiest wild animals in the world, all as a matter of course.


Where does your love for the Lord find itself expressed in your care for creation?


Lord Almighty, you have given us this world to care for. Turn our hearts to you in love, so that all creatures may sing your praises.

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