Torch, Spring/Summer 2011

24 TORCH | Spring–Summer 2011 INGMARWESEMANN | ISTOCKPHOTO L iterally meaning “support,” sustainability is a term used in an ever-widening spectrum of economic and environmental conversations. Sustainability carries the idea of persistence, such that human, social, natural, and financial capital is maintained or increased for future generations. Though it has become an increasingly popular word, the concept of sustainability is rooted in Scripture, for it was “in the beginning” that God commanded fish, birds, other creatures, and humans — created in His image — to flourish. The creative “work week” closed as God declared all that He made was good. However, this was not His final act of the week. The day after God tasked Adam with job instructions, He established a pattern of rest from that work. This seventh day of the Creation week became the precedent for the fourth commandment (Ex. 20:8–11). Rest for All Creation by Mark Gathany, Ph.D. Demanding less from our environment allows the land to rest and challenges us to rely on God as our sustainer.