Paul says the whole creation is groaning, in bondage, in need of salvation. What does this mean? It’s easy to understand that sinful human beings need a Savior. In our separation from God, we have cut ourselves off from the One Who is Life and Love. Focused primarily on what is good for ourselves, we have made a mess of our relationships, going so far as to plunge the world into war.

And even after we become Christians, our desires aren’t completely pure. As Paul indicates in the previous chapter, we still often want to do things that are bad for us and for others. Although Christ’s death and resurrection has broken the power of sin over us, It won’t be until the return of Christ that our bodies, hearts, and minds will be completely free of the remnants of sin and all its deceptions. Only then will we see the complete redemption of our bodies, our final adoption as children of God.

And so until that time, Christians and non-Christians alike continue to make ignorant and selfish choices that harm the planet which God has given us to inhabit. We hunt animals to extinction and destroy their habitat to feed our desire for profit. We pollute the rivers, oceans, and skies, thus causing the whole creation to groan.

There is, therefore, a conservationist element to evangelism. For when people become Christians, their focus shifts from inward to outward as they love God and others more than themselves. And this love often spills over into a proper care for God’s creation, as our reverence for God naturally leads us to respect and even cherish all the things He has made.

But it will only be at the return of Christ that human beings, fully and finally cleansed of our sin, can resume our proper role as governors and stewards of all Creation. Only then will we truly understand the world, and be able to guide all living things the way God intended us to do. Only then will the whole creation truly reflect the glory of its Creator – fulfilling the purpose for which it was made.

So as we wait patiently for Christ to come and make all things new, let us hold on to this hope of glory, seeking to glorify God as best we can today.

Romans 8:18-25 (ESV)

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.
20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope
21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?
25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.