'Elemental' Gospel: Earth

And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so.

Earth

Shortly after God created the dry ground (aka earth) he created vegetation. A few days later he placed mankind in the Garden of Eden to take care of it. Farming and subduing the earth has been mankind's primary vocation since the beginning of time. In fact, because of Adam's sin, God cursed the ground and made cultivating it hard work. We have made farming much easier now with modern technology, but it still is no easy task.

As I think about how easy it is to traverse the continents due to good roads, trains, and automobiles, I have to conclude that we truly have subdued the earth. We still suffer from earthquakes, volcanoes, and other natural disasters, but overall, we rule the earth.

It is interesting to note that in many legends and myths, earth is often symbolic of death. In Greek mythology, one needed to descend into the earth to visit Hades. When we die, our bodies are very often placed in the earth. God made mankind from the dust of the earth, and when we die, we return to the dust of the earth.

When I think of Jesus interacting with earth I think of His death and resurrection. When He died, the book of Matthew states that the "earth shook and the rocks split." His death literally rocked the world. It is interesting to note that Jesus was also buried. He was placed in the bowels of the earth having breathed his last breath. One could even say that the earth swallowed him up. But Jesus conquered earth and burst forth from his grave alive!

While mankind may have subdued the surface of the earth, Jesus has truly conquered earth completely!