Since early childhood, I have been captivated by the natural world. From blossoms in spring, buds opening into leaves, butterflies fluttering from one flower to the next, earthworms and caterpillars crawling on the ground, to the occasional hare or deer I would sight on family outings away from the city of Prague – all this and more fascinated me. It was why I chose to study science in high school and later at university. Even now on nature walks with my husband and father, I’m often the first to spot lorikeets in a tree hole, a wallaby in the bushes, a koala high up on a eucalyptus tree, or an unusual flower, mushroom or lizard along the path.
While nature has always spoken to me, it was only in my late teens that God opened my mind to his existence. At that time, nature took on an even deeper meaning as I could now see behind everything a Designer, Creator, Life giver and Sustainer. Mindless, haphazard evolution no longer made sense as an answer to the order, harmony and complexity of the natural world. For a long time, I rejected the idea of evolution altogether, believing in a special divine creation as described in the Bible. However, as I have continued to read on the subject, I couldn’t deny the massive amount of evidence for an evolutionary origin of life on earth. As with many things, I have come to the conclusion that the truth must incorporate and hold in tension both alternatives – a Mind behind all things (the immanent nature of the Divine in which “we [and all that exists] live and move and have our being” – Acts 17:28), as well as natural and evolutionary processes ultimately accomplishing divine purposes.
As I became more acquainted with the message of the Bible, I began to perceive in natural phenomena a picture of spiritual realities. These insights became the genesis of this book which is the second of a trilogy. The other two are Divine Reflections in Times and Seasons and Divine Reflections in Living Things (both available through www.pathwaypublishing.org and www.heavensreflections.org).
Divine Reflections in Natural Phenomena and its companion titles nudge us to take a fresh look at the physical world around us – to see every process and each creature in a new way. The biblical writers, too, point us to the natural world to perceive divine glories (take a look at Psalm 19, for example). If we can pause for a moment and ponder, life and the world around us will begin to unmask such divine qualities as love, wisdom, peace, joy and power before our eyes.
While this book is based on the belief that God or a Higher Mind is behind all that exists, I do not insist on the literal interpretation of all biblical accounts, as I have come to understand that the Scriptures are not intended to be a strictly scientific or historical work. The assumption is, however, that biblical accounts reveal, sometimes in symbolic language, God’s deeds in human history and also point to unseen spiritual realities. Often poetry and metaphor are the best or only vehicles to communicate what is inexpressible in literal language.
I understand that the Divine is neither male nor female. However, to use the pronoun “it” seems inappropriate, therefore I am opting for the grammatical gender “he”.
For those drawn to learn more about the biblical teachings behind the observations, footnotes provide scriptural references for the conclusions reached.
Of course, other writers have also expressed the idea that the physical world pictures spiritual realities – each in their own unique way. These are my perceptions based on my experiences and understanding of how certain natural occurrences can be viewed in spiritual terms. May you too gain new insights as you take a fresh look at the seemingly ordinary aspects of your life. Eva Peck