The Great Commission

in matthew, it reads, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations..."

in mark, it reads, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature..."

if i were to combine the two, i'd say something like this:

"Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to all of creation, making disciples of men..."

The Lord has given me this revelation of redemption and restoration of all creation. I'm not going to focus on the "making disciples of men" part...we all get that, or at least have heard it. I want to focus on the first part. It would be easy to read mark's version of the great commission and ignore the fact that he specifically says, "preach the gospel to every CREATURE" (look it up in the Greek on blueletterbible.com...it means all of creation...not just humankind). I think as humans, and especially Americans with a materialistic mindset largely patterned after a Greek philosophical worldview, we almost think of "preaching the gospel to creation" as some new-age, heretical junk--and yet Jesus told us to do it! What does He mean?

The same Greek word translated "creature" in this verse is found in Paul's letter to the Romans, when he writes, "the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God...the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now." Paul paints a picture of nature--trees, birds, all of creation--everything around us waiting and longing in an unbearable tension for the redemption.

The gospel is salvation for men...clearly...but it does not stop there. The gospel is salvation for the earth, for the universe, for creation!!! Peter spoke of Jesus returning to the earth, not only for the redemption of humans, but the "restoration of ALL things." Read Psalm 148--the psalmist is calling for all of creation to step into its intended place of glory. Or Psalm 19--creation isn't out there to just do whatever it happens to do...it REJOICES to glorify Jesus.

I've often tended to think of "environmental" people who are all concerned with "saving the planet" as just cheesy, distracted people who ignore the so-called "deeper" or "more important" things of the spirit (I apologize if you're one of those people and I've judged you in the past). But my error simply stems from my lack of revelation that God LOVES His creation...all of it...and can't wait to see the lion lay down with the lamb--literally, not just metaphorically. His plan is to "gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth--in Him"

In perfection, the spiritual and the physical are not two distinct realities, but are dynamically interactive. Often we have the religious mindset that "spiritual" is good, and "physical" is bad--this not only leads to an idolatrous worship of "spiritual" activities like prayer and worship, but to an unhealthy disdain for "physical" activities like recreation or relationships. In reality, He intends for prayer to be very natural, and for relationships to be very spiritual--He desires for it all to be one--for things on earth to be like heaven, and for heaven to invade the earth!!!! This is what we mean when we pray, "Your kingdom to come on the earth as it is in heaven"--it means we want all of heaven and all of earth to come together as one in universal restoration!!!!

...but back in the real world, the question remains, how do we "preach to creation" on a day to day basis? I definitely don't want to get weird and go around hugging trees and eating grass. Shoot, I'm allergic to most of the stuff out there (but I will be healed in Jesus' name!) We definitely don't want to start talking to nature in order to reach some sort of "oneness" or "harmony" with all things in the mystical Eastern sense. Don't get weird! These are all perversions of the true Biblical doctrine of redemption--which is why there really is a limited amount of life and fruit in the lives of people who practice those religions. Though I lack sufficient language to adequately even describe the tiny little bit I think I get about this, the best way I can put it is this: we should walk around daily with a soft spirit towards creation, with a love and respect for all that is made--knowing that the only thing distinguishing me from the dust on the ground or the flower of the field is the breath of God inside of me. We should look at creation not as some strange, cold, distant, phenomenon, but as a fellow worshipper, pointing to, existing in, and waiting for Jesus. The truth is we DO find harmony in creation--but only as part of the world-wide symphony that lives moves and breathes in Him--and eagerly waits for our restoration.

stuart

p.s. for more revelation on this, study those Bible verses and the life of St. Francis of Assisi.