To be spiritually healthy, one has to be connected in five ways (connecting with God, connecting with other people, connecting with nature, connecting with the physical world, and connecting with oneself.) This post will consider the third of these five ways. The remaining two ways will be considered in posts that are to follow.
There is life all around us. There are other animals and there are plants. There are living things we can see and describe, and there are organisms so small we can’t see them without a microscope. Spiritual health requires that we be aware of our connection with these living things. The first thing that Adam was given to be responsible for in the Garden of Eden1 was the plant world.
The second task given to Adam was to name all the wild animals and birds.2 That established another connection for Adam with living non-plant life. When we ignore our connection with the living world, plants and/or animals, around us, we are ignoring the world God placed us in.
Occasionally I will run into someone who says that it’s a walk in the woods where they can meet God. In saying that, they are reflecting what Genesis says. We can experience God’s presence in all the living world around us. However, if one carries that further, saying that nature is their God, they are missing the point of what the second chapter of Genesis is about. That chapter isn’t about replacing God with nature, but understanding that God is in nature as well as in our lives. On the other hand, if we deny our connection to nature, we are also missing the point of Genesis. If you can’t see the presence of God in the plants and animals around us, you are missing some of the glory of God that God put into creation.
Ross T Lucas 