Our Future Hope

Christians believe that although things seem pretty bad now, there is still hope. The Bible points us forward to the day when the whole of creation will be restored and renewed; when suffering will come to an end and the nations will be healed (Revelation 21-22). Here an now, we have a responsibility to care for creation and witness to that which is to come. This means living lives now which anticipate our future with God, and seeking the restoration of the earth from this point onwards.

One of the key things we can all do is recognise that we simply cannot continue to use up the earth's resources at the current rate. Research shows that the average Briton uses more than three times our share of the world's resources. The Eden website has a series of three articles thinking about this - you can read the first (with links to the other two) by clicking here.

Addressing this includes many of the ideas we've been sharing in other weeks, including reducing our carbon footprint, buying local, seasonal food, and looking at the impact of what goes into the products we buy. Building on this, other things to think abotu this week could be:

• Buy less stuff(!) - A huge percentage of everything we buy ends up in landfill. Despite the adverts and politicians encouraging us to consume for the sake of the economy, most fo us have far more than we need. Learning to live simpler, more basic lifestyles is cheaper, better for our mental health and satisfaction, and a huge step in looking after the planet.
  • There's all sorts of websites and other resources out there to help get you thinking about this. Search 'simple living' to get some ideas. One site which might help is the Joy in Enough campaign, which has a number of resources to help get you thinking.
  • Rather than rushing to the shops everytime you need to buy something, have a look at sites like Freecycle first. people are often giving away good quality items for free.
• Switch to green/renewable energy supplies - This guide from A Rocha includes all sorts of information about making you home more green and moving to renewable energy suppliers.
• Think about your money and investments - Your Ethical Money is a site which shows how different banks and savings schemes perform ethically, including on enviromental issues.