“Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” – Revelation 7:3

Today’s Scripture Reading (March 21, 2015): Revelation 7

I drink Diet Coke. Don’t bother telling me how bad it is for me, I get that, and my current consumption is drastically reduced from what it was at one point in my life, but all of that being said, it is still my “go to” drink. So when you walk into my office, both at church and at home, you will see Coke memorabilia. It has actually been suggested (sarcastically) that maybe what we need to do is approach Coke about sponsoring our church. How much would they pay if we changed our name to “Diet Coke Baptist Church” or maybe if our church met in “Diet Coke Hall?”

The comments were meant humorously, but they also started me thinking (which is always a dangerous thing.) What if our ownership was obvious? What if the priorities of the people that met inside of the building were posted on the outside of the building? Or, maybe, what if the people who really called the shots inside the building were written down on the outside. In many churches, it is not really the Board or the Pastor who are running the show, but a small informal group of people who lead through influence, innuendo and rumor. What if we listed their names on the sign outside indicating the reality, this is really their church? I suspect that there would be very few Jesus Christ Churches. Most would be identified by a single family – or maybe the local sports team, or maybe Starbucks. But the motives of those inside would be written on the outside, and if you shared those motives, maybe you would go.

There are a couple of things that intrigue me about this verse. And one of them is the idea that God will reveal on the outside the reality of what is going on inside. In ancient times, whatever was placed on our foreheads indicated ownership. It is the reason why the priest, or pastor, places the mark of the cross on your forehead on Ash Wednesday – it is a mark of ownership. The cross on the forehead indicates who it is that you confess owns you. And that is the case in this verse. The seal indicates who is reigning in the life of the person. Ownership would no longer be a mystery. From now on it would be displayed for all to see.

But I am also intrigued with the command to not harm the land, sea and trees until everyone was marked. Anything we say about Revelation is speculation, but having said that, let me speculate. I have openly wondered what it would mean if God meant John 3:16 very literally (“For God so loved the world …”) What if he really meant world, and not some subset of the word as defined by us? What if world meant every person, ever beast, every tree, and every creature that swims in the ocean? What if it went even beyond that to include every rock and every drop of water, fresh or salt? What if God truly loved the world?

Why wouldn’t he? In the opening chapter of the Bible he declared that everything created by his hands, not just on, in and of the earth, but the Sun, Moon and stars as well, were “very good” (Genesis 1:31). In terms that we would understand, God had fallen in love with creation. The first job that he gives to man is to take care of creation (see Genesis 2), long before there were any sheep to feed (see John 21). God loved everything that he had created.

So what if, and I recognize that the limb I am about to go out on is very thin, the reason why the angels are commanded not to hurt the earth is because that is, at least partially, how we are going to be judged? What if the land, sea and trees all get a vote as to whether or not we have loved God. After all, and the Christian Church is a major offender in this, we are presently destroying creation at an unprecedented rate. We don’t need the help of any angels - we are doing it! But if the angels are commanded not to harm creation, what is it that leads us to the conclusion that we can?

The reality is that if the one who is owned by God is the one who responds to God’s mandate, than there is a very clear message that if God’s seal is on our foreheads, we will care for the thing that God loves – the earth. And as Christians, we need to be leading the charge in creation care. We need to hear the command of God to the angels and understand that it might be meant for us as well - Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God. Do not harm creation until the sign of ownership have been placed on the outside of the followers of God. Because I have called my people to care for my creation.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Revelation 8