Seeing God’s Design at Home
When we think about encountering the Creator, we usually picture ourselves somewhere quiet and grand, maybe standing at the base of a mountain or staring out across vast, open spaces. We picture the jagged peaks of a mountain range, the expanse of a sun-drenched desert or the untamed wild of the Serengeti. We travel thousands of miles to find God in the "Book of Nature," assuming that His voice is loudest where there’s no laundry to fold or emails to answer.
But here’s the beautiful paradox: the same Artist who sculpted those mountains is the exact same God sitting at your kitchen table.
The Architecture of Variety
Theologians have long spoken of two books God has given us to know Him: The Book of Scripture and the Book of Nature. When we look at nature, we are struck by God’s refusal to build a "cookie-cutter" world. He delights in textures, seasons, and sheer variety.
If you travel to the desert, you find stillness. If you travel to the peaks, you find majesty. If you look at the ocean, you find movement. He isn’t just an Architect; He is an Artist who pours Himself into the details of every landscape.
Reading the “Third Book"
If God is a creator of such breathtaking diversity in the natural world, why would we expect Him to be any less creative in our families?
I’ve come to believe we have a third book to read: The Book of the Family.
Just as God created mountains to be sturdy and unmoving, and deserts to be deep and introspective, He has crafted the personalities of the people in our lives with similar intention. We often try to flatten these landscapes. We get frustrated when the "mountain" child (steady, stubborn, immovable) doesn't act like the "ocean" spirit (vibrant, loud, constantly flowing). We try to "fix" the personalities that don't match our own preferences.
But what if we stopped trying to level the terrain?
I dive deeper into this concept in my latest video, just a quick click away!
A Challenge for Your Week
This week, I want to challenge you to bring the lessons of the wild into your own home. When you look at your spouse, your children, or your closest friends, stop viewing their differences as obstacles to be managed or "flattened."
Instead, view them as different chapters in God’s design:
The Mountain: Appreciate their stability and their refusal to be shaken.
The Desert: Respect their quiet depth and the hidden wisdom they carry.
The Ocean: Celebrate their vibrancy and the energy they bring into a room.
God is just as present in your dinner conversation as He is on the plains of the Serengeti. He is the Creator of all these varied landscapes—including the one sitting right across from you. Take a moment today to thank Him for the diverse, beautiful design He has placed in your own living room.