By Osa Mbonu-Amadi, Arts Editor 

Given that Jesus is the reason for the annual season of Christmas that climaxes this year on Sunday, December 25, 2022, humanity must not lose sight of the fact that love is the overriding attribute of the person whose birth the world is celebrating.

 Christ’s abundant love for mankind is so visible, even to those without deep knowledge of Him. But Christ’s love is not limited to mankind. His love extends to nature – animals, plants, water, mountains, etc.

 And of course, we must not forget that Jesus was born in a manger, a shelter for animals, because no room was available in Bethlehem where accommodation was sought for his mother whose pregnancy was due.

 So, apart from the few humans around the manger, animals were the first acquaintances of baby Jesus. That love for animals was to continue throughout His earthly ministry. One of the dominant images of Jesus are those that depict him as a good shepherd carrying a lamb across his shoulders.

The Scripture teaches us that the peace in nature was ruptured by sin. According to the Bible, in the Garden of Eden, humans and all animals lived in peace until sin came, and with it, violence. We began to tear one another into pieces, first as preys, in violation of God’s instruction when He said in Genesis 1:29-30: “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food…”

 Nevertheless, from Isaiah 11:6-11, we learn of God’s plan to restore peace in all his creations: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them…They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain…”

 As Jesus loves animals, so does he love other aspects of nature. Often, he went into the mountains and on the sea to commune with nature and pray.

Although one may argue that it was the law of the jungle – kill or be killed – that necessitated humans to prey on animals. If that is true, then we must also agree that man has conquered and won that battle with animals and nature millions of years ago.

The question now is, how fair has man’s rule over animals and nature been? Weighed on environmental scale, it will not be wrong to submit that man has been the worst kind of dictator ever.

We have not been magnanimous in victory, and we can all see where our unbridled violence against nature has landed us – climate change, resulting in extreme weather conditions, floodings, tsunamis, earthquakes, landslides, desert encroachment, soil erosions, loss of biodiversity resulting in loss of genetic capitals, novel diseases, epidemics, pandemics, etc.

However, in this compassionate philosophy, we must recognise the commendable strides some people have made, especially in the western world. For instance, there are 44,288 organisations that promote animal welfare in the United States alone. These organisations employ 135,196 people, earn more than $12 billion in revenue each year, and have a total asset of $29 billion.

Christmas, which typifies Christ’s love for all God’s creations, is an opportunity for us to reassess our relationship with nature, especially with animals. It is a time to make a decision to treat nature with a little bit of love in this part of our world, knowing that it will all come back to us.

For those who aspire to go to heaven, treating nature with love in this world is to be complaint to the Kingdom of God. From all of us at Vanguard, we wish you merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.