Hello from a retreat center north of Charlotte, where Renovaré Institute students are in the third week of their residency and this tree stands ablaze beside the parking lot.
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The natural world instructs willing students about God’s rhythms, God’s beauty, God’s balance, God’s glory. It neither replaces nor supersedes Scripture, but it does flesh it out.

Think how often Jesus’ teaching drew upon nature: Consider the birds. I am the vine. Unless a seed falls to the ground and dies it cannot bear fruit. He was teaching from God’s first textbook.

Richard Foster, writing on the discipline of study, comments:

For the Christian, our study focuses primarily upon two great “books”: Scripture and “the book of nature.”

With regard to Scripture, we begin by quieting ourselves until we can be attentive to the Word in Scripture. Then: We read. We reflect. We absorb. We allow Scripture to read us. We apply Scripture to our living.

With regard to nature, the process is much the same, except that our “reading” comes by way of observing and listening. Then: We reflect. We absorb. We allow nature to read us. We apply the lessons of nature to our living.

Our content this week, including a delightful podcast interview with author Hannah Anderson, is focused on learning how to “read” this other great book. Our prayer is that you’ll discover from nature a new facet of the nature of God.

The Other Great Book of God

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