“神叫风吹地，水势渐落。” – 创 8:1
人类把罪带到这个世界（创 3章）之后，情况变得越来越糟，直到神决定使用水的力量，也就是洪水（创 6章）来摧毁世界。许多人因此而灭亡，但神拯救了挪亚一家，设立他们成为受造物的管家。
创世记第8章告诉我们，挪亚的方舟停在山上，神“叫风吹地，水势渐落”。我们在哪里见过“风”（或灵？）经过水面的场景？请回顾创世记 1:2。在创世故事开始时，神的灵（风）运行在水面上。在创世记第8章中，神给了人类和祂的受造物一个崭新的开始。挪亚放出一只鸽子飞过水面渐退的地表，寻找落脚点。但它起初并没有找到。七天后，鸽子衔着一片橄榄叶子回来了——很明显，植物在神所造的大地上又重新开始发旺起来。
在这里，我们看到神在洪水之后使万物复苏，使人类管理者可以再次照管全地。
作为受造物的管家，我们今天做得如何呢？
祷告
天父，我们承认，我们常常忽视你对我们的呼召，即关爱你所造的世界和其中的生灵，包括其他人类。求你饶恕我们。感谢你一再（多次）给我们机会去聆听你的呼召，去顺从你的邀请，去爱护你所创造的一切。阿们。
创世记 8:1-12
1神记念挪亚和挪亚方舟里的一切走兽牲畜。神叫风吹地，水势渐落。
2渊源和天上的窗户都闭塞了，天上的大雨也止住了。
3水从地上渐退，过了一百五十天，水就渐消。
4七月十七日，方舟停在亚拉腊山上。
5水又渐消，到十月初一日，山顶都现出来了。
6过了四十天，挪亚开了方舟的窗户，
7放出一只乌鸦去。那乌鸦飞来飞去，直到地上的水都干了。
8他又放出一只鸽子去，要看看水从地上退了没有。
9但遍地上都是水，鸽子找不着落脚之地，就回到方舟挪亚那里，挪亚伸手把鸽子接进方舟来。
10他又等了七天，再把鸽子从方舟放出去。
11到了晚上，鸽子回到他那里，嘴里叼着一个新拧下来的橄榄叶子，挪亚就知道地上的水退了。
12他又等了七天，放出鸽子去，鸽子就不再回来了。
The Stewards’ Second Chance
“God . . . sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.” – Genesis 8:1
After human beings brought sin into the world (Genesis 3), things grew worse and worse until God decided to use the power of water in the form of a flood (Genesis 6). Many people would die, but God saved Noah and his family to become the stewards God had created them to be.
In Genesis 8 we are told that Noah’s ark came to rest in some mountains, and that God “sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.” Where have we seen a “wind” (or Spirit?) passing over waters before? Look back to Genesis 1:2. The Spirit (wind) of God hovers over the waters as the story of creation begins. And here, in Genesis 8, God is giving humans and his creation a new start. Noah sends out a dove to fly over the receding waters and look for a place to land. But it finds nothing at first. Seven days later, though, the dove returns with a leaf from an olive tree—a clear sign that plant life was flourishing again on God’s earth.
Here, then, we see God resurrecting creation after the flood and making it possible for human stewards to take care of the earth again.
How are we doing as the stewards of God’s creation today?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we admit that we often ignore your call to care for your world and its creatures, including other people. Forgive us. Thank you for second chances (and many more) to listen to you and to obey your invitation to love and care for all that you have made. Amen.
诵读: 骆云秀
片头: 张妙阳
