Tobias van der Berg

Stewardship not ownership — this should be the foundation of every Christian environmental ethic. We hold creation in trust. That changes everything about how we treat it.

Evening to morning — this is also how the church calendar works. Vespers before Matins, darkness before light. The ancient liturgy is built on creation's rhythm.

God gives every plant and tree for food. Provision is built into creation from the beginning. Before the fall, before scarcity, the Creator provides abundantly. The Lord's Prayer — give us this day our daily bread — is prayed to a God whose original posture is generous provision.

The firmament — the expanse — is God creating space. Separation is not division in a negative sense; it is the creation of room for different things to exist. God makes space for difference. That's a profound thought for community life.