The church of the future will be full of global citizens, people who think less about their private corner of the world and more about our shared humanity. The “earth” is not just the ecology. It is also the culture and diversity of our world. We must care for the planet, but we must also care for what happens on the planet. Our love for mountains and our love for movies are both manifestations of a healthy love of Creation; our love of city streets and our love of the Straits of Mackinac both reveal our commitment to the things God has made that we have continued to create.
Christians will consider people from the opposite half of the planet as much their brother and sister as they do people next door. Of course we do this already. It is one of the most endearing features of the faith. When we travel and meet other Christians, they embrace us warmly and call us “brother” or “sister,” and there is great feeling attached to those terms. God made the earth his home and created us as his caretakers. God is best understood as a householder, and we are his stewards and co-operants.
Adapted from Then. Now. Next.: A Biblical vision of the church, the kingdom, and the future.