In honor of today being Renewal’s Day of Prayer for God’s Creation, here is a portion of Dr. John Silvius’s fitting poem, “A Steward’s Prayer,” to be published in its entirety in Flourish magazine (releasing on Monday!).
From A Steward’s Prayer
By John Silvius
4
For You are Creator Sustainer of all
You made Adam a steward by dominion’s call.
All sheep and the oxen placed under his care
To exercise dominion on the Earth everywhere.
Nothing withheld from Your sovereign call;
But men sought to be gods, and then came the fall.
Now broken relationships cloud every dimension–
Mankind against God, against man and creation;
God’s judgment and death loom o’er every nation.
And my soul inquires:
Will there be any hope for this generation?
5
Yes, our hope is in Jesus, the Savior of all,
Second Adam, lowly steward of His Father’s call.
Born with sheep and the oxen, and faced with much sorrow,
No place for His head, and a colt He would borrow.
Though men sought to be gods and brought on the fall,
Very God became man to reconcile all–
Mankind with God, with all men and creation;
It’s the Gospel of hope and reconciliation.
Without cost to believers, Christ’s death brings new birth.
And my soul inquires:
How should the redeemed now live on this Earth?
6
We should love our neighbor and not withhold good,
With hearts stirred by our Savior, we’ll do what He would.
As we go, give the gospel to many lost hoards,
By our winsome deeds as well as with words.
Choose not to hoard treasures of silver and gold;
Wages drawn from the Earth through injustice untold.
Instead we must reach the weak, helpless, and poor
Who through media’s waves are as close as our door.
When sinners seek purpose in material worth
My soul realizes,
Christ came to reconcile them with God and the Earth.
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