Eco Theology: Rainbows & Promises

Eco Theology: a series which explores the theology of creation care in bite-size chunks

Rainbows & Promises

I’m not one of those people who usually remember their dreams.  As much as I want to, even when I make a mental note during the night, when I wake up I just don’t seem to be able to remember.  Now, there is just enough on the tip of my brain to let me know I actually had one and to taunt me.  But then as I struggle to piece together what happened they slip into oblivion.  So perhaps it is significant that I still remember a little bit about two dreams I had before I was six years old.

The first one took place in South Carolina (where I must have recently visited my grandfather).  I was outside walking around a lagoon when an alligator surfaced, landed on the shore, and decided he wanted human tacos for lunch.  Now when I was a kid I was fast.  But I wasn’t alligator fast.  I ran and ran but could not escape him.  We were running so fast that just as he was about to sink his teeth in we both ran through the portal between dream world and reality.  He continued to chase me all the way down the hall into my parents room and then he somehow disappeared.  No matter how much we searched the whole house, especially underneath my bed, he was not to be found.  To this day, there has no further sign of him; though that’s not to say I don’t keep a close eye out.  I have no idea how this is significant, relevant, uplifting, or educational but I thought I’d bring you along for the run anyways.

The second dream took place on a very rainy day.  I had been raining all morning and I chose to curl up in a bean bag next to the window.  Now those of you who live in other places around the country and the world would surely laugh at us in Southern California if you knew how insane we get when it rains.  At the sign of the first drop of rain we go into a frenzy.  Plans change.  Rain gear comes out.  The doppler radars fire to life.  And we move into storm mode.  All the news stations interrupt your regularly broadcasted soap operas and courtroom absurdities to announce “Storm Watch 2010” as if the world is teetleling(?), tottling(?) – you know – is on the brink of disaster.  Then an 1/8th of an inch of rain and 3 days later we assess the situation and thank our lucky stars.  Anyways… that day I was in that mindset.  The ground was not absorbing the water quick enough and I was on Storm Watch 19–, let’s just call it Storm Watch year 5 of Scott’s life.  So I fall asleep thinking about the coming flood.  Of course, this leads to a dream about Noah’s ark where fortunately I am one of the good ones who wins a complimentary ticket aboard the ark.  I don’t remember if I was the Noah-figure or not.  I do remember is that I was saved though.  The dream would be much cooler if I cool tell you what I remember of the animals, how they all fit in there, what we ate, etc, but I can’t.  What I do remember is waking up from that dream to the sun shining, rainbow beaming across the sky, and water fading into the ground.  I thought about how lucky I was to have been on the ark.  How good it was to be a person chosen by God.  How lucky must Noah and humanity have been to have been preserved by God.  And fortunately God had saved the animals so we could still have hamburgers and zoos, not to mention the ground so we could build houses on top of it as opposed to everyone living in boats like in the movie Waterworld.

This idea that the whole ark story was only about God saving mankind pervaded throughout my life.  We like to talk about the 2×2’s in Sunday school because it shows God’s power and, frankly, kids think animals are cute.  So we put them up on the flannelboard and play up the cuddly and exotic animals.  Good thing God had this afterthought to bring them along because I’m just not sure I could be a vegetarian.

For me, and I believe for many other Christians, this afterthought idea pervaded.  People were important.  Animals help people in various ways.  Bring the animals too.

More recently though I have re-read the story of the ark with an eye for detail.  I have to tell you that a lot has changed for me and my view on creation care as a result of this story.  If you have the time I encourage you to read Genesis 9:1-17 before going on.  This section takes place after they have disembarked from the ark.  Here we see God establishing His covenant.

Now, often section headers here will talk about God’s Covenant with Noah.  In fact, in theology this is referred to as the Noahic covenant.  While this is helpful as an identifier, it is not helpful descriptively.  You see, the covenant extends well beyond Noah.

Please take careful note who God covenants with throughout this section:

• Genesis 9:9-10  you (Noah) and your descendants after you and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark
• Genesis 9:11  you (Noah)
• Genesis 9:12  you (Noah) and every living creature that is with you
• Genesis 9:13  the earth
• Genesis 9:15  you (Noah) and every living creature of all flesh
• Genesis 9:16  every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth
• Genesis 9:17  all flesh that is on the earth

Six times here God covenants with the living creatures or the earth.  When I first grasped this, it shook me.  I had thought the rainbow was only a sign of God not flooding the earth to destroy man.  But now I saw that it was so much more.  It was the sign of the covenant between God and His creation.  That was so much bigger, so much grander than I had thought.

You see, God’s love, care, and even His covenant extend to ALL of His creation.  We have developed such an anthropocentric (human centered) view that we have missed that God loves, cares for, and covenants not just with people but with the woodpecker, the beagle, the snow leopard, the poison dart frog, the honey pot ant, the sloth, the spider monkey, and even the earth itself.  What an incredible value He has placed on His creation.

Keep in mind that this was not a short term agreement.  There were no “if you ______, then ______” stipulations.  No, this was an everlasting covenant (9:16).  And if you know anything about God and His covenants, you know that God is faithful to His covenants.  The psalms say that His covenant faithfulness endures forever (Psalm 136).

Next time you look up and and see a rainbow, think about God’s grand covenant with His creation.  Take a moment with your friend, dog, and/or tree and praise God that He has covenanted with you all.  May sound silly to some to think of putting your arm around a tree and a dog, and rejoicing together that God cares for you, but it’s true that God cares for each part of His creation.

The God whose promises endure has committed to all of His creation.  Next time you feel down because of all of the doom and destruction talk that surrounds the environmental conversation, look to the rainbow as a sign of the covenant between God and His creation.  He is in control and He is our source of confidence.

Also consider:

Eco Theology: It’s All Good

Green Living: #4 Indoor Plants

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