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by Michael Lipford
I grow grapes in our back yard. I was inspired to grow them from the tradition of my mother's homeland, Cyprus, where grapes, olives, figs and lemons adorn her family’s patios. I was challenged to grow them well from the words of Jesus, "I am the vine, you are the branches; I will prune you to produce much fruit."
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I have fished along the Elizabeth River with my father and hunted in the Great Dismal Swamp with friends. I’ve also spent much time on my grandfather’s farm. He and my aunts and uncles looked at their work as a partnership with the Lord. Through these experiences, I became fascinated with ecology (how nature works) and the spiritual relationship between God and His creation.
I studied biology at Virginia Tech and then worked as a field biologist surveying rivers. Eventually, I attended graduate school to study forest ecology in Shenandoah National Park. My faith in the biblical account of creation was challenged by professors who taught evolution as the mode of creation of living things. I brushed aside this challenge until one day it hit me: Was the Bible accurate or contradicted by science? Could things have happened by chance? Weren't we created in His image? |
My faith in the biblical account of creation was challenged by professors... |
For several years I wrestled with these questions as an intellectual exercise. I began to make progress only when I started answering with my heart, and a good dose of prayer, instead of with my head – a lesson my father taught me. I learned that I don't need to have all the answers. That is where faith comes in. There is room for science and faith in explaining the origin of the world and how it functions today. I do know with certainty that God created the heavens and the earth, and manages and sustains His creation today. I cannot know with certainty how He did it with such precision and beauty. How God created is still a mystery that science cannot fully explain. The more I study nature and natural sciences, the more it drives me back to the living God that made all things.
Twenty years ago I came to Richmond for a job with The Nature Conservancy. Another question confronted me: Why did the church not speak to the Christian practice of stewardship as it relates to creation? In Wendell Berry’s short essay, "God and Country," he said we must deal with the true meaning of Genesis 1 in words like “subdue” and “dominion.” He was right. Berry stated that many people claim these words as “unconditional permission to use the world as they please.” I came to realize, like many have, that such an interpretation is contradicted by the rest of the Bible.
| God made the world, and it pleased Him. He has never given up title to it, and He wants us to care for it well. |
The ecological teaching of the Bible is clear. God made the world, and it pleased Him. He has never given up title to it, and He wants us to care for it well. Biblical ecology is really a moral understanding of what God expects of us in relation to the natural world. Stewardship of creation means to carefully manage, not to destroy and abuse; it is part of my call in service to Him.
At its core my call is rooted in my awe of God, who created and sustains the universe and seeks a relationship with us. It is a call I live out in my vocation in protecting and restoring lands and waters in Virginia, and it is a call I live out with my family in our relationship with the Lord, in our life together, and in growing grapes.
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