Dominion

Genesis 1:28 AMPC And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth. At the dawn of creation God gave a responsibility to humans: to have dominion over the animal kingdom.

It follows, therefore, that at some stage we will have to account for how we have treated the creatures that the Lord has given us.

Last night we watched in horror at how the bears are exploited in Laos - their bile being drained in a most cruel way for their "quack" medicine.

Thankfully there is a charity at work trying to rescue bears from this life of misery.

But there are an estimated 10,000 bears in so called farms like that.

Such treatment makes me despair of humanity - that God can still love us when we are so desperately cruel.

So much mercy and undeserved love,  enough to come and die for us while we were yet sinners.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

If it was me, I would've confined mankind to the cosmic green wheely bin, not even to be recycled!

It behoves us to take our commission with the animal kingdom seriously.

When we visited Bella Coola last year, what a contrast in how they treated their wild bear population. They revere the grizzleys and take great pains to protect them and their environment.

We too should be kind to our animal friends!

Jesus spoke about how humans have more worth than many sparrows, but that's not to say that sparrows don't have value - they do!

Matthew 10:31

So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Thankfully there is coming a time when the animal kingdom will be redeemed:

Isaiah 11:6-9 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Can't wait!