Issue 37 Encountering JesusBlog | Encountering Jesus in nature
Encountering Jesus in nature
Author: Andy PeckPost Date: 26.12.23
We’re familiar with encountering Jesus in the pages of Scripture and Bible study, in individual prayer and collective worship. We may also hear the challenge to see Jesus in the faces of the hungry and thirsty, the sick and the prisoner (Matthew 25:31-36). But have you ever explored what it means to encounter Jesus in and through the natural world?
Yet, if Jesus is the ‘Word’, through whom God spoke all things into existence (John 1:2), surely shouldn’t we expect that ‘Word’ to communicate with us through creation too?
Beauty and Majesty
Let me be personal. I have found that the intentional practice of listening and speaking to Jesus outdoors has transformed my relationship with him and enriched how I know him through other means. It’s given me a bigger picture of Jesus. He’s not just my ‘personal Saviour’. He’s the one who created the furthest galaxies, the icecaps, forests, deserts and oceans (Colossians 1:16). He dreamed up everything from pterodactyls to puffins, porpoises to plankton, palm trees to protozoa. I often say that Jesus has left his fingerprints on everything he’s made. We just need to step outside, filter out the distractions in our minds and from our devices, and we will find Jesus is waiting for us.
