Heluhelu Baibala/Bible Reading

Hoʻomaikai maila ke Akua iā lāua, ʻī maila hoʻi ke Akua iā lāua, E hoʻohua aʻe ʻolua, e hoʻolaha hoʻi, e hoʻopiha i ka honua, a e lanakila ma luna, a e noho aliʻi ma luna o nā iʻa o ke kai, a me nā manu o ka lewa, a me nā mea a pau e kolo ana ma luna o ka honua.- Kinohi 1:28

“God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”- Genesis 1:28

He Manaʻo o ka Haumāna Micah Beniamina, KS Maui ’23- Ka Papa Kou

Have you ever heard of the phrase Aloha ʻĀina before? Well maybe in Hawaiʻi you have, but if you're not from here then you may not understand what it means. Aloha ‘Āina can have many interpretations for translation, but the most common and direct translation is “Love for the Land.” But how can we connect this idea with God and his teachings? I mean it sounds kinda simple, right? God created the earth, and therefore we should take care of that which he created. But I want to take a deeper dive into Genesis 1;28. “God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

A few years ago, I got the chance to travel up Mauna Kahālāwai, on the island of Maui. It was an opportunity given to me and a few of my crew mates by my Coach. We went to plant Koa as it’s used to make Waʻa or canoes. And it's crazy because at first there wasn’t much to see because it was so cloudy that day. Yeah, that all changed once started eating lunch after we finished planting all the Koa saplings. The clouds opened up, and underneath where we were sitting, about 2ft in front of us was a huge drop. We could see everything from top to bottom, and even the ocean to our left-hand view. But it wasn’t just the view that captured my eye, it was all the animals as well as the vegetation that surrounded and captivated our surroundings. That's when I thought to myself, “Wow, this is the place that I live, in which God has blessed me and so many others.” I thought deeply about Genesis 1:28, and I realized that when God says to rule over the earth and subdue it, he means to create children to fill the lands, care for creatures that inhabit the earth, and mālama the earth. 

What is the lesson that we can draw from this scripture? God created humans in his image, and to accomplish the goals of Genesis 1:28, we needed to multiply in number and care for the earth and its inhabitants. The lesson here is that we were created in God’s image, therefore, we should care for the earth the way he cares for it and us. How can we apply this lesson to our daily life? I’m personally going to help my mom take care of her garden with all kinds of different Native Hawaiian plants. And whenever I feel like I don’t want to help out one day, the image of that view atop Mauna Kahālāwai will always remind me that I need to care for the earth the same way god does.

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