What's Love Got To Do With It?

       It's hot out today, even up here in the Red River Valley.  Although I have to admit that we are often twenty degrees cooler than down south.  It still feels hot.
       It's the common opening topic of conversation this time of year: how hot it is, how humid, how dry, or did you get rain and if you got rain, how much did you get.  You can almost always count on weather as something to talk about without getting controversial but talk about the weather in person or on the news seems to carry an extra edge of urgency this summer.
       It goes along with all the reports of drought contrasting with heavy rains causing floods.  There are wild fires burning for miles and miles in several states while crops are dying in the fields in other places.  Spring came early this year and farmers planted early and now watch and wait and worry.  It's the kind of year that causes worry, especially since it was announced that this last year is the warmest year on record for the United States.
       Is it global warming? Is it climate change caused by human activity or just a phase the earth is going through?  This conversation is when the non-controversial topic of weather gets scientific, political and even theological.
       It's good and necessary conversation but in terms of practice of how we are to live, it's not the point.  How we live in caring for creation is a matter of faithful living and so we don't need to wait for the answers before we know how to act.  I don't pray because the presence of God or the power of prayer have been proven, I pray out of faith.
       So what does faith have to do with the weather?
       Followers of Jesus are given the command to love one another, that we will be known by how we love one another.
       When water is scarce, I can show my love by being careful not to waste water or to use too much.  I know that when it's so hot and the heat holds in pollution that even timing when I put gas in the car can make a difference.  The same kinds of things can be said about energy use such as replacing light bulbs and watching my thermostat and using old technology like using shades and curtains to keep the hot sun out of the house during the day.  By saving all my errands and organizing them into one trip, I save energy as well as money.
       In some ways I think of it like considerate backpacking, trying to make as little impact on the earth where I have been as possible.  I believe that Christ-like love impels us to care for creation instead of selfishly using it up with no regard for others or for the wonders God has created.
       The scientific/political/theological conversations need to happen and we need to listen to each other and take part in them but for me, the meaning is made real in the relational.  Faith calls us to live in relationship with God, people, and the world around us.
       My younger sister has been recycling and remodeling her house with these things in mind for years.  She takes seriously the relationship between everyday tasks and how they affect others.  Her shorthand for this is: "Save the polar bears".  Because they are so endangered by rising and melting seas and loss of habitat, it's her gentle reminder to be aware of your choices such as whether or not you remember to recycle or turn something off.
       When we were tots, we were taught to pick up our toys and put them away instead of leaving them for someone else.  Love pushes us to not only clean up after ourselves but also to reach out beyond ourselves.  This summer's heat and disasters are opportunities for us to put our faith and love into action.  Read 1 John 3:16-18.