God's earth

Today we are leaving our lovely island for a few hours. Only 25 miles away is the village of Llanberis which stands at the foot of Mount Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. Yesterday we were travelling across the island and in the distance was the beauty of the Snowdonia National Park's mountains covered in snow. They looked amazing. We hope that when we get to Snowdon there will be much to photograph in terms of snowscapes.

Any good shots will be used by Pauline for oil painting. Having been on the island for almost a year and a half it is time we started to look at the beauty of other parts of North Wales. The villages which exist in Snowdonia tend not to be picturesque but the topography comes up to scratch. So, we shall see what happens as we venture out this afternoon.

All that we shall see is the work of God. He has given it to sustain us and to give us pleasure in beauty. It is so easy for those who live in towns and cities to think that there is little to see which will raise the human spirit. We lived there all our lives until we came to Anglesey and found peace and quiet and harmony. The town dweller does not always have the time to go and enjoy the countryside, being caught up in the stress of living cheek by jowl with other human beings. Yet, when time is available they would do well to see the works of God to remind them of his strength and wonder in creativity.

Jesus came to a tiny state on the shore of the Mediterranean 2,000 years ago. It was a rural place and he used all the rural lifestyle to demonstrate the message he brought from God. He talked of shepherds leading their sheep. He called fishermen to follow him. He even went into the towns and called tax collectors to give up their lucrative trade and follow him. The imagery that he used in his parables was set in the countryside mainly.

Our imagery, today, can also be found in the world that God gave us, a world that we have as a sacred charge to pass on to coming generations. Yet humankind has often raped the earth for their own ends. Huge mines have been excavated where some human beings have perceived their spirits to dwell. Coal is dug out of the earth, bringing forward the day when the resources run out. Forests are destroyed in the quest for more and more wood and paper. This in turn affects our weather patterns and contributes to global warming.

We humans need to consider seriously what we must do to conserve the limited reserves of food and energy in the world. We have to consider generations as yet unborn as we shoulder our responsibility for God's earth. The story of the Garden of Eden speaks volumes about us being in charge of the whole world. Jesus said to Peter, "Feed my sheep" and all this fits into that commission. Again we are looking at the pastoral imagery of feeding sheep. There are unborn sheep who will need that food so we do not restrict our activities to our own generation.

When the Chernobyl nuclear accident occurred its affect on the world spread afar. Where we are going this very day was seriously affected in that milk was undrinkable because of the fallout on the Welsh hills and mountains. Whever you drop a stone into a pond the ripples circle outwards and keep going. What we do today affects others of this age and the age to come. So, in the name of God, we must tread warily in case we set off something we cannot stop.