Does God Care About The Earth
By Dr. Arlo Moehlenpah
The completed earth gives evidence of God’s care and purpose. Its unique features rotation, tilt, revolution around the sun, water, vegetation, and air are not a mere product of time and chance. The earth is the only planet on which life exists. All other planets are covered with lifeless soil.
God formed the earth to be inhabited (Isaiah 45:18). Similar to an architect who designs a house with areas for different activities, God designed the earth with great care so man could live here. He knew man would get thirsty and need water so God planned for the earth to have much water. He knew man would need air to breathe so God planned an atmosphere. He knew man would not float, swim, or fly forever so God planned for dry land. He knew man would need to eat so God planned fruit, berries, nuts, and vegetables, as well as grass for the animals. He knew man would not be able to see in the dark so God planned for light, the sun for the day and the moon for the night. He knew man would want fish and meat to eat so God planned for the waters and the earth to bring forth abundantly.
The completed earth gives evidence of God’s care and purpose. Its unique features of rotation, tilt, revolution around the sun, water, vegetation, and air are not a mere product of time and chance. The earth is the only planet on which life exists. All other planets are covered with lifeless soil. The composition of air is perfect for life. If the atmospheric pressure were much lighter or heavier, life would cease to exist on earth. If our atmosphere were much thinner, many of the millions of meteors, which now are burned up, would reach the surface of the earth causing death, destruction, and fires. The air close to the surface of the earth, when heated by the sun, rises when it is warmed. The result is that the air near the surface of the earth is maintained at a temperature that is suitable for life. The movement of warm air from the surface of the earth creates wind, which carries pollutants away from our large population centers. Even the dust in the air is important, for without dust, neither drops of rain nor snowflakes would fall to the earth, and clouds would not form.
Water is essential for life. Over 70 percent of the earth is covered with water. The unusual and interesting properties of water are a tremendous blessing to us. If water did not expand and float on top as it freezes, lakes would freeze solid and the fish would not survive during the winter. Other unusual properties of water provide for temperature control and the enablement of water to get to the tops of trees. The hydrologic cycle provides the earth with its own water purification system. Liquid water has not been found anywhere else in the universe. If everything is supposed to have evolved from a big bang, why do not other bodies in the universe have water, air, and vegetation?
Gravity keeps the water and us from falling off the earth, the atmosphere from escaping into space, and the earth, the moon, and other planets orbiting in the solar system.
God gave the earth the right spinning rate. If it spun slower, the days and nights would be longer causing much colder nights where life would freeze or much hotter days causing life to burn up. Each revolution of the earth around the sun results in a year. If the earth traveled faster than it does now, the centrifugal force would pull it farther away from the sun and all life would cease to exist. If it traveled slower, the earth would move closer to the sun and all life would like-wise perish.
The sun not only supplies daylight, but it also provides energy for the continuance of life on earth. If the earth received just 1 percent less energy from the sun, it would soon be covered with ice. If the earth received just 1 percent more energy, the earth would soon be unbearably hot. The amount of energy the earth receives from the sun depends on its distance from the sun, which in turn depends on the masses of the earth and sun and the speed of the earth in its orbit. The sun is not just another star. Most stars put out a high proportion of lethal radiations like X rays and gamma rays, but the sun mainly provdes us with a life-supporting spectrum of energy. The light and heat outputs from the sun are practically constant while other stars fluctuate greatly in output.
The earth’s moon shows purposeful design by providing adequate night illumination, an accurate time record, and regular tides, which are importat for cleansing our shorelines.
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork” Psalm 19:1-4). Our universe is a cosmos (orderly universe), not a chaos (confused mass or mixture).
Does God care about the earth today? I believe God cares about the ecology of the earth. I do not believe that He wants to see the air, water, and land that He wants to see the air, water, and land that He created polluted. Also, we should do what we can to preserve His creation for ourselves and the generations to come should the Lord tarry His coming. One of the greatest principles that Jesus gave was to do unto others as we want them to do to us. I do not want people to throw trash in my yard, nor should I want to mess up any of God’s creation.
Certainly He cares about the people on this earth. He is not willing that any should perish. Before God laid the foundation of the earth, He knew that He would occupy a human body and come as the Lamb of God to be the sacrifice for the sins of mankind. He died once for all, even those of us living today. God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son. Yes, He cares!
This article “Does God Care About The Earth?” written by Arlo E. Moehlenpah is excerpted from The Pentecostal Herald a 2007 special issue.
