Celebrating The Wonder Of The Wilderness

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CELEBRATINGTHE WONDER OFTHE WILDERNESS

IIn these times of industrialand commercial expansion,wilderness regions are

often seen as low-rent realestate. Some see undevelopedland as untapped potentialwaiting for a developer’s big idea and investors’ money.

But not RBC research writerand naturalist Dean Ohlman.With a weathered face, hikingboots, and a sun-shielding hat,Dean’s searching eyes scanrocks, weeds, soil, and whatevermoves or doesn’t move in therustling leaves and grass.

There’s wonder andsignificance in the regions of our world that many of us havelooked at without ever reallyseeing. I hope you find thisbooklet as inspiring as I have.

Martin R. De Haan II

Managing Editor: David Sper Cover Photo:Terry BidgoodUnless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version.Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.All rights reserved.© 2007 RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, Michigan Printed in USA

CONTENTS

A Sojourn In The Wilderness. . . . . . . . 2

Defining Wilderness . . . . 3

God’s Revelation In “High Definition” . . . . . . 6

What The WildernessReveals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

A Place Of Retreat . . . . 23

Entering The Cathedral Of The Wilderness . . . . 26

Spiritual Insights From The Wilderness . . . . . . . . . . 27

Treasuring The Wilderness. . . . . . . 29

The God Who Cares . . 31

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A SOJOURN IN THE WILDERNESS

BBob Barr had returnedfrom his tour of dutyin Vietnam healthy

in body, but he waswounded emotionally andspiritually. Although he wasa follower of Christ, he feltestranged from his Creatorand confused about whatGod was doing in his life—indeed, what God was doingin and with the world. Hewas angry and frustratedwith God.

Hoping to at least getrelief from dwelling on thisinner turmoil, he joined agroup of friends on abackpacking trip into themountains of Colorado.While the excitement andtoil of the trek distracted him temporarily from hisspiritual struggle, therestlessness in his soul keptbreaking through into hisconsciousness—compellinghim one evening to go

off alone into the alpine tundra that surrounded theircampsite high above the tree line. Bob tells the story:

I remember walking away from the camp one evening and lookingacross a narrow valley.We were at 11,500 feet,camped at the foot of asheer rock face that wentup to 13,800 feet. Thesun was beginning toset—filling the sky and landscape withspectacular colors—and I was struck by God’spower and the majesty of the world that He hadcreated. Then my eyeswere drawn down to my feet where tuffets of tundra grass werecrowned with littleflowers. On the side of one tuft was a littleopening, and a small bird was nesting there—surrounded by beautifulwhite and bluewildflowers. As I bent

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© 2007 RBC Ministries

down to look closer, thebird flew away leavingbehind tiny eggs the sizeof jellybeans. At once Iwas overwhelmed withGod’s presence, thinkingabout His power andauthority and majesty as the Creator of thesemountains. He hadcreated this vast vista,but He also cared tocreate beautiful littleflowers and these tinybirds to live in this harsh environment. Theywere nesting there verycomfortably—God caringfor the small things in themidst of this awesomebigness. His presencethen was so real to methat I still get emotionalthinking about it morethan 30 years later. I feltHis presence so stronglythat I couldn’t stand up. I was forced to my knees.And if you can hear anaudible voice of God, Iheard that voice, and His

words to me were, “Bob, I am with you. And everything is okay.” In the quiet wonder of a

mountain wilderness, Bobdiscovered the presence ofOne who long ago had said,“Be still, and know that I amGod” (Ps. 46:10). A sojournin the wilderness produced,once again, the profoundspiritual healing that somany followers of Christhave experienced over the centuries.

DEFININGWILDERNESS

TThe word wildernessevokes impressions andemotions in people that

vary widely. To some, thewilderness is frightening—bringing to mind mostlynegative images: savagemammals, dangerousreptiles, harmful insects,treacherous landscapes, and threatening climates. To them, the wilderness is

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mostly to be avoided and is best observed from behindglass. For others, the imagesare mostly positive: plentifuland mostly harmlessmammals, captivatingreptiles, amazing insects,beautiful landscapes, andwonderfully varied climates.To them, close-up wildernessexperiences are to becoveted and remembered.

The Bible frequently givesus negative impressionsabout the wilderness. Itbrings to mind the rebelliouschildren of Israel wanderingin the desert, fearfulprophets seeking to escapethreatening rulers, andSatan’s temptation of Jesus.But on the positive side arepictures of patriarchs likeAbraham, Isaac, and Jacobfollowing their flocks; Mosesand Elijah interacting withGod; David and Jonathanforging a lifelong friendship;and Jesus retreating into the wilderness for rest,quietness, and communion

with His Father.The original Hebrew

gives us some significantinsight into the meaning of the word wilderness. Themost common word for it,used some 255 times in theOld Testament, delineates a desert, a pasture, or simply an uninhabited anduncultivated land. A coupleof other words add theconcept of desolation or the dwelling place of wildbeasts. The root word inNew Testament Greektranslated as wildernessis similar to the Hebrew but adds remoteness andsolitude. The basic meaningof the English word is “the place where the wild creatures are,” set inopposition to regions wheredomesticated animals andpeople predominate.

For the purpose of thisbooklet, wilderness is usedbroadly to define areas of the earth where theinfluence of people has

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been light. While artifactsand influences of humanexploration, industry,recreation, and warfare arenow present everywhere onthe globe, there are manyareas where we can stillexperience the outside worldin much the same manneras our ancient ancestors.

Over the centuries, civicand national leaders haverecognized the importanceof preserving natural areasin the vicinity of urbandevelopments—like parks,lakes, forest preserves, trails,and riverside recreationareas. The existence of a city park is mute testimonyto the fact that the humanheart yearns for relief fromthe unrelenting pressure ofmanmade things and humansystems. Any place wherewe can manage to be mostlyalone with our senses andattuned primarily to whatGod has made can serve asa sort of wilderness. As achild, I often found that

a square foot of grassobserved with a magnifier, or a clump of overhangingshrubs that could give me a private “fort,” served tofulfill some of the beneficialaspects of a wildernessexperience.

Yet as one outdooradventurer noted, “Thedeeper the wilderness, thedeeper the experience.” Thisis perhaps why the mostsignificant biblical sojournsinto the wilderness were the ones that were for anextended time or were themost remote. Sometimesmore space and time arerequired for us to receive the positive spiritual impactof a wilderness experience.

There’s anotherwilderness theme in theBible that we will notexamine: the use of theword wilderness as ametaphor for one’s lifeexperiences. In fact,wilderness as a symbol orfigure of speech is by far its

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most common treatment inbooks and commentaries onthe Bible. Studies that lookat the wilderness as theplace of the most significantdisclosures of God’s “generalrevelation” are in theminority. In the pages thatfollow, we will focus on thenatural places in our worldwhere people can go to bealone with their Creator—the wild regions.

GOD’SREVELATION IN “HIGHDEFINITION”

SSince the time ofAugustine in the 4thcentury, Christian

theologians have used themetaphor of “two books” to picture how God hasrevealed Himself to us.Augustine said it like this:“Listen to the book that isthe divine page; look at thebook that is the orb of theworld.”

Much later in the BelgicConfession, there is a moredramatic formation of theword picture:

We know [God] by two means: First, by thecreation, preservation,and government of theuniverse; which is beforeour eyes as a most elegant book, wherein allcreatures, great and small,are as so many charactersleading us to see clearlythe invisible things ofGod, even His everlastingpower and divinity, as theapostle Paul says (Rom.1:20)—all which thingsare sufficient to convincemen and leave themwithout excuse. Second,He makes Himself moreclearly and fully known tous by His holy and divineWord, that is to say, as faras is necessary for us toknow in this life, to Hisglory and our salvation. What God discloses

about Himself in the natural 6



world, the book of His works,has traditionally been calledHis “general revelation.” The testimony of Himselfreceived in an extraordinaryway by chosen recipientsthrough the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the book of His words, is termed“special revelation.” Theconclusion of this theologicalclassification is that thenatural world is as muchGod’s “book” as is theBible—both books oftenhaving significantly different purposes. Yet the Bible itself declares thatboth types of revelation areundeniably of divine origin(Job 38–41; Ps. 19).

Regarding generalrevelation, the BelgicConfession makes referenceto the conclusion of theapostle Paul, who wrote:

What may be knownabout God is plain to[people], because Godhas made it plain tothem. For since the

creation of the world God’s invisiblequalities—His eternalpower and divinenature—have beenclearly seen, beingunderstood from whathas been made, so thatmen are without excuse(Rom. 1:19-20 NIV). So according to Paul,

people have no excuse fordenying the existence ofGod because nature itselfshouts, “God is!”

For years I used thispassage as an argument for God’s existence. But Ihave to confess that for most of those years I did not really spend a great dealof time considering whatthere is in the natural worldthat has such profoundspiritual implications. The wilderness, where one can most clearly readGod’s second book, mustsomehow have spiritualvalues for those whoearnestly seek Him.

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WHAT THEWILDERNESSREVEALS

TThe apostle Paul saidthat we can “clearly”see God’s “eternal

power and divine nature” in what He has created. Sowhat is it we can actuallywitness in the wild? Thisquestion compelled me topay attention more carefullyto the natural world andalso to learn from othersabout what they havediscovered while reading the book of God’s works inthe wilderness.

Here’s a sampling ofwhat we can witness whenwe enter the less traveledareas of what John Calvincalled “the theater of God’sglory”:

Mystifying Light,Energy, And Matter.Even though science tells us much about the cosmos,the true nature of light,energy, and matter still

defies human definition and understanding. Becausewe do not know much aboutwhat these natural featuresdo and how they do it, weusually forget that we usethem much like a personwho skillfully drives a carbut knows next to nothingabout what’s under thehood. In the wilderness,these natural elements meetto produce a sense of awethat primitive civilizationsoften understood better thanour more mechanized world.

Seemingly EndlessTime And Space.According to the apostlePaul, the material worldprovides evidence of God’s“eternal” power. Time hasno beginning or endingapparent to our humansenses or understanding.Because our earthboundhuman mind cannotconceive of eternality, wewant to either deny it orsomehow bring it into ourhuman scope. But we can’t.

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Space too has no spanmeasurable by our humaninstruments. Using our mostpowerful microscopes, wefind no limit to smallness. In the largest telescopes,bigness gets forever bigger.

Yes, timelessness andinfinity are frighteningrealities for time-bound,finite creatures to ponder.Nonetheless, thoseactualities that we can“clearly see” should causeus to bow in humility beforeour Creator.

AstronomicalExtravagance AndMagnitude. Realizing howimmense our galaxy is andhow many stars and planetsit contains staggers themind. But grasping the factthat there are billions ofsuch galaxies is beyond ourcapacity. We try to somehowunderstand the dimensionsof God’s cosmic creation byusing specific measures like “light years.” But one night under the stars in

the wilderness is enough to show us that theextravagance and magnitudeof the universe is beyondour imagination and beyond our mathematicalcalculations. Astronomerssay, for instance, that onestar is 20 million light yearsaway and another is abillion light years fromearth—figures based on thespeed of light (186,000 milesper second). In saying so,we often think we’ve madethe universe measurable.Reality mocks thatassumption.

The Wonder OfLife. Life is a humanmystery like light andmatter. Scientists don’t knowwhat it is or how it came tothrive so richly on one smallplanet in a wider cosmosthat is so hostile to life.

Yet even, and perhapsespecially, in the wildernessregions of our earth, one is awed by the constantcelebration of life—life that

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is intricately balanced in its multitude of differentstructures, from slugs tosequoias. That’s one reasonthat abuse of our wildernessareas seems so profane.We’re causing the extinctionof thousands of these lifeforms—which the Bibleaffirms our Creator loves(Ps. 145:9)—before we even know their God-givenpurposes. Certainly our destruction of theseliving creatures cannotcontinue without negativeconsequences for humanity.

Awesome Power.John Muir wrote of anexperience he had ofclimbing as high as he couldin one of Yosemite’s hugeDouglas firs in a windstorm.He wanted to feel the powerof the gale experienced bythe tree. He writes:

When the storm began toabate, I dismounted andsauntered down throughthe calming woods. Thestorm-tones died away,

and, turning toward the east, I beheld thecountless hosts of theforests hushed andtranquil, towering aboveone another on theslopes of the hills like a devout audience. Thesetting sun filled themwith amber light, andseemed to say, while theylistened, “My peace I giveunto you.” As I gazed onthe impressive scene, allthe so-called ruin of thestorm was forgotten, andnever before did thesenoble woods appear sofresh, so joyous, soimmortal.1

The power of the forcesthat God maintains to keepthe engine of His creationgoing is so overwhelmingthat it is beyond words. Ablinding blizzard, a roaringwaterfall, a surging wave, abolt of lightning, a grindingglacier—all these fill oursouls with wonder andadmiration.

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Profound Mystery.Light, matter, energy, and life remain inscrutable tomankind. But those are not the only mysteries that surround us in thenatural world. I have aphilodendron vine that hasexisted indoors for years.This common domesticatedvine still causes me tomarvel. It grows about a foot each month by taking artificial light, carbondioxide, and water to createits solid material structure.I’m still amazed atphotosynthesis.

All around us are similarmysteries: birds that werenever carpenters’ apprenticesbut know how to constructintricate nests; fireflies thatturn organic matter intoflashlights; wasps that makepaper; spiders that spinnature’s strongest fibers; fishthat spend their entire adultlives at sea, only to returnover thousands of miles tothe very creek that spawned

their existence. We may well be able to dissect theiranatomies and describe theirlife processes, but we remainmystified about the howsand the whys.

Abiding Orderliness AndUnfailing Regularity.Secular scientists oftenspeak of apparentrandomness and disorder innature; yet for science evento exist, the creation mustbe mostly predictable.Researchers cherish itsorderliness and regularitywhile at the same timeadmit that the source ofsuch order and regularity isbeyond their understanding.If planetary motions andgravity, for instance, werenot orderly and regular, lifewould not exist. There issuch order and regularity in the entire creation thatmathematicians who don’tacknowledge God oftenspeculate that mathematicallaws are eternal and are the

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ultimate cause of thecosmos. One theoreticalmathematician, in fact, callsthe mathematical principlesin nature “beautiful.”

Constant Re-creation. One of themost significant aspects ofthe wilderness is that whenwe enter it, we come nearestto being present at creation.In the wilderness, God’s workis still going on. Christianphilosopher WolfhartPannenberg exclaims:

The creation does notremain what it was at its point of origin. Itchanges. It develops.New forms appear. Newthings happen. There is a sense in which one can say that creation ex nihilo [out of nothing]is complemented excontinua, continuingcreation. . . . Thefaithfulness of thecreating God continues to conserve the existenceof this world while

drawing it forward towarda new and transformedstate of existence.2

God rested from theoriginal work of creation, but we can praise Him thatHe still works in the processof its continuation and itsredemption:

For by [Christ] all things were created thatare in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whetherthrones or dominions orprincipalities or powers.All things were createdthrough Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him allthings consist. . . . For itpleased the Father that in Him all the fullnessshould dwell, and by Himto reconcile all things toHimself, by Him, whetherthings on earth or thingsin heaven, having madepeace through the blood ofHis cross (Col. 1:16-20).When we’re in the

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unspoiled regions, it’sthrilling to contemplate the divine Trinity’s ultimatepurpose for us: to be looking for and working inthe power of God the HolySpirit toward the time whenGod the Son will come andreconcile all things to Godthe Father.

UnfathomableComplexity AndIncredible Design.Naturalistic evolutionistsassert that life on earth isthe result of uncomplicatedbasic elements acted on bysimple forces in an entirelyrandom and undirectedmanner. But scientificstudies show us that thematerial world is irreduciblycomplex and its featuresreflect astounding design.Every year, millions of wordsare written and hundreds of thousands of researchstudies are conducted thatdo little more than raiseeven more questions abouthow things work and how

they are made to work. In spite of the arguments of those who deny theexistence of a Creator, the creation defies simpleexplanation. From massivecosmic forces to subatomicparticles, the natural worldis unrelenting in yielding uponly more complexity andmore evidence of purpose.

George MacDonald usedthe purposefulness of thecreation to touch the heartof the key character in hisnovel The Musician’s Quest.Agnostic Robert Falconerhad gone to the wildernessfor solitude and rest, butfound himself ponderingwhether the natural worldmight have its source in asupernatural Creator.

Now working inFalconer’s mind was thedull and faint movementof the greatest need that the human heartpossesses—the need of God. There must betruth in the scent of that

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pinewood; someone mustmean it. There must be aglory in those heavensthat depends not uponour imagination; somepower greater than theymust dwell in them. Somespirit must move in thatwind that haunts us witha kind of human sorrow;some soul must look upto us from the eye of thatstarry flower. Little didRobert think that suchwas his need—that hissoul was searching afterthe One whose form wasconstantly presented tohim, but as constantlyobscured by wordswithout knowledgespoken in the religiousassemblies of the land.3

Impressed by the same obvious design innature, C. S. Lewis sharedMacDonald’s belief that aproper consideration of thenatural world will pointaway from itself and to its Creator. Lewis believed,

therefore, that “because God created the natural—invented it out of His loveand artistry—it demands our reverence.”4

Abundant Joy. TheFrench term is joie de vivre,“the joy of living.” Fewthings in the outdoors fill me with delight like the joy of living that is oftendemonstrated by God’screatures. Recently while I was kayaking on a lake, a sudden commotion in the water near the shorecaught my eye. As I paddledcloser I saw a lone femalemallard splashing in theshallows, turning in madcircles and making the water fly. After that shebegan preening and thendrinking—savoring whateverflavors and organisms thelake water yielded byholding her mouth wideopen and then clacking her beak. Academics mightpropose that her activity was mere utility. But I’m

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sure I saw the duck smiling! And what about

cavorting calves, squirrelsplaying tag, songbirdsrejoicing at the dawn, ottersgliding down muddy slidesover and over again, andgrizzly bears deliberatelysomersaulting on mountainslopes? You’ll not convinceme that these creatures arenot living with joy.

Henry Van Dyke, thewriter of the well-knownhymn “Joyful, Joyful, WeAdore Thee,” must have felt the same way:

All Thy works with joy surround Thee,

earth and heaven reflect Thy rays,Stars and angels

sing around Thee, center of unbroken praise.

Field and forest, vale and mountain,

flowery meadow, flashing sea,

Chanting bird and flowing fountain

call us to rejoice in Thee.

God made the wildcreatures and the wildernessfor them to live in. And thePsalms tell us that Goddelights in the wildernessand its creatures. Hence, themore we delight in them, themore we share in God’s joy.

Virtually EndlessVariety. Science has a wordfor nature’s great variety:biodiversity. And for virtuallyevery variant, scientists offersupposed practical values.Male cardinals are brilliantred and more striking thanthe dull orange females inorder to get the female’sattention for mating. So whydo male and female blue jayslook the same? The males ofsome species are larger thanthe females so they canprotect the females. So whyare females of some specieslarger than the males? Someinsect species are brilliantlycolored to attract attention.So why are other insectspecies dull in color to keepfrom attracting attention?

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I heard a scientist say thatbiologists once thought theyknew why a certain animalacted a particular way, butnew observations haveforced them to conclude:“We don’t have a clue why it does it!” That was arefreshing admission to hear.

The endless variety innature is just another aspectof God’s boundless creativity.Noted evolutionist J.B.S.Haldane, when asked whatcould be inferred about theCreator from the works ofnature, is reported to havereplied, “An inordinatefondness for beetles.” So far,over 350,000 variants havebeen identified.

AmazingAdaptability. CharlesDarwin used his observationof finches on the GalapagosIslands to formulate thetheory that the capacity ofthe birds in that isolatedregion to adapt to a greatvariety of food sources is thefunction that “created” all

life forms. Such adaptation(“natural selection”) is theorigin of all species, heconcluded. His observationswere truly significant, as arethe thousands of similarobservations made by otherbiologists since that time. It is obvious that God gaveHis creatures the capacity to change in this manner.

This capacity is oftencalled “microevolution,” ahighfalutin term that simplymeans “small changes.” Wecan see small changes likethis in many similar animaland plant groups. Suchchanges, however, are notedonly in creatures that retaintheir primary basic lifefunctions and form. Hence,we could logically concludethat natural adaptation ismore of an evidence ofGod’s design than proof ofDarwin’s conjecture—that all living things had theirsource in one simple lifeform, and that withoutdirection or purpose

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through the course ofminute changes, this naturaladaptation created all thediversity and complexity we see in life.

OverwhelmingBeauty. In the Genesiscreation account, the firstfact mentioned about thetrees of the garden was thatthey were “pleasant to thesight” (Gen. 2:9). Because ofthis, I’m convinced that thebeauty we see and sense inthe natural world is one ofthe most important evidencesof God’s divine nature.

Nineteenth-centuryAmerican historian GeorgeBancroft expressed it likethis: “Beauty is but thesensible image of theInfinite. Like truth andjustice, it lives within us; likevirtue and the moral law, it isa companion of the soul.” 5

In commenting onWilliam Cullen Bryant’sbeliefs about beauty innature, theologian AugustusStrong observes: “The

external world is beautiful,because unfallen. It shareswith man the effects of sin;but whenever we retreat fromthe regions which man’s follyhas despoiled, we may findsomething that reminds us of our lost paradise.” 6

John Muir believed that“everybody needs beauty aswell as bread, places to playin and pray in where naturemay heal and cheer and givestrength to body and soulalike.” 7

The value of naturalbeauty to the human soulwas what inspired themasterful landscape painterThomas Cole, founder of theHudson River School ofpainting. With his paintings,he wanted to put peopleback in touch with theCreator. He hoped hispaintings would give a city-dwelling admirer a yearningfor the outdoors where hetoo could discover what hehad—that “in gazing on the pure creations of the

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Almighty, he feels a calmreligious tone steal throughhis mind, and when he hasturned to mingle [again] withhis fellow men, the chordswhich have been struck inthat sweet communion ceasenot to vibrate.” 8 Maybethat’s why I admire Cole’spaintings and not Picasso’s.If we saw something like aPicasso in nature, we’d knowat once it did not come fromGod’s hands! Beauty may benature’s most profoundapologist for God.

ExtravagantFruitfulness. It’s hard to find a more exuberantexpression of praise forGod’s abundance than theone penned by the Hebrewpsalmist David:

You visit the earth andwater it, You greatly enrichit; the river of God is full ofwater; You provide theirgrain, for so You haveprepared it. You water itsridges abundantly, Yousettle its furrows; You

make it soft with showers,You bless its growth. Youcrown the year with Yourgoodness, and Your pathsdrip with abundance. They drop on the pasturesof the wilderness, and thelittle hills rejoice on everyside. The pastures areclothed with flocks; thevalleys also are coveredwith grain; they shout for joy, they also sing (Ps. 65:9-13).The fruitfulness of the

earth and all its creatures isa major theme both of thebiblical creation story andthe repopulation of the earthafter the Genesis flood. Inboth instances, the Creator’smandate was that thenonhuman creatures andmankind should “be fruitfuland multiply” (Gen. 1:22,28;8:17; 9:1,7). We all have thecapacity to multiply becausethe earth produces enoughfood for us to live and thrive.

All the creatures of theearth are taken care of by

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God. The Psalms speak of the wilderness as God’sgreat larder where “theyoung lions roar after theirprey, and seek their foodfrom God” and where Godgives the sea creatures “theirfood in due season” (Ps.104:21,27). Psalm 145affirms the same: “The eyesof all look to You, and Yougive them their food at theproper time. You open Yourhand and satisfy the desiresof every living thing” (vv.15-16 NIV). And God does thatbecause He “is gracious andfull of compassion. . . . AndHis tender mercies are overall His works” (vv.8-9). The amazing fruitfulness of the earth that providesboth for us and for all thecreatures of the wilderness is a gift from a righteous,gracious, merciful, andloving Creator.

Sacrificial Nurture.When I was about 10, Icame across a baby birdcalled a killdeer, and my

instinct was to save it bycapturing it. Being naturallyendowed with long legs, thelittle bird made a successfulrun for shelter. As I wastrying to lay my hands on it, my eye was distracted byanother bird—a larger oneflapping helplessly on theground only a few feet away.So I quickly went off inpursuit of this new prey.After about a 50-yardscamper, however, I calledoff the chase. The “injured”bird suddenly took flight. Iwatched it fly without anyhandicap over to the spotwhere I first saw the babybird, which was now farfrom my reach. I’d beenfooled by the motherkilldeer, which had merelyfeigned injury to draw meaway from her fledgling. She had risked capture anddeath to save her young, justas countless other creaturescommonly do. Many otherexamples of this sort ofnatural devotion and self-

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sacrifice can remind us ofthe ultimate sacrifice theSon of God made on ourbehalf (Eph. 5:2) andencourage us to sacrifice on behalf of others (Col.1:24; Heb. 13:16).

Limitless SensoryStimulation. While vision is the sense weconsider most important in experiencing nature, the other senses also addimmeasurable delight to wild things and places. Theflavors, odors, textures, andsounds we most enjoy arealmost always natural ones:the taste of a wild raspberry,the fragrance of a clump ofspring violets, the feel of acool mountain stream, thesound of pebbles tumblingafter a receding wave. A pristine wilderness offersus an unending supply of “candy for the senses.”

I’m reminded of the greatsensory Psalm about God:“Taste and see that the Lordis good” (Ps. 34:8). The

implication of that invitationis that one needs to have a relationship with theCreator to truly learn of Hisgoodness. Likewise, whenwe use all our senses toexperience what the Creatorhas made, we learn of Hisgoodness and greatnessmore profoundly.

ComplexInterrelationships.When Cal DeWitt, professorof environmental studies atthe University of Wisconsin,was advocating for wetlandsconservation and restorationin his township, he cameacross a couple of residentswho told him they didn’t seemuch value in preservingwetlands. Dr. DeWitt knewthey were both avid pikefishermen. When heexplained to them that pikefingerlings depended onwetlands for their survival,he won their support.

The truth is that allnatural systems areimportant in God’s scheme

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of things, but the value of most of them is not soquickly grasped. That Godwould care for a sparrow,the humblest and mostordinary of birds, ought to be a sign to us that weshould not see anything innature’s community as beingvalueless or unnecessary. All things in nature areinterrelated. And the pristinewilderness provides us thebest of laboratories in which to learn about theseconnections. This may havebeen what Thoreau had in mind when he said, “Inwildness is the preservation of the world.” 9

Modern science oftengives us the impression that we understand thecomplexity of wild nature.The truth, however, wasstated well by ecologistFrank Egler: “[Wildernessecosystems] are not onlymore complex than we think,they are more complex than we can think.” 10 It’s

because of such complexinterconnectedness that the wilderness makes ushumble—which is the rightattitude to have in thepresence of our Creator.

Models ForEfficiency. The man whoinvented Velcro received his inspiration when, after awalk in the wilds, he foundcockleburs hooked to thethread loops of his shirt.Hundreds of inventionsbeneficial to people aremodeled after naturalstructures and systems.Untold numbers of natural constructions and arrangements likelyremain in the wild for us to learn from.

We moderns think of ourselves as masters of efficiency, but ouraccomplishments in thatarea are mocked by thehoneycomb, the anthill, andthe tree. If we were to leavewild areas untouched for noother reason than this, we

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would be blessed to havethe opportunity to learnagain and again from thehandiwork of our Creator.

Christian farmer andphilosopher Wendell Berrychallenges us:

We need wilderness also because wildness—nature—is one of ourindispensable studies.We need to understand it as our source andpreserver, as an essentialmeasure of our historyand behavior, and as theultimate definer of ourpossibilities.11

The Uniqueness OfMankind. Finally, we get a glimpse of God’s eternalpower and divine nature in the natural world as weobserve the unbridgeablegap between people and theother created things. Thisdifference—and the reasonfor the difference—has beenimmortalized by David:

When I consider Yourheavens, the work of Your

fingers, the moon and the stars, which You haveordained, what is manthat You are mindful ofhim, and the son of manthat You visit him? ForYou have made him a littlelower than the angels, andYou have crowned himwith glory and honor. Youhave made him to havedominion over the worksof Your hands; You haveput all things under hisfeet, all sheep and oxen—even the beasts of the field,the birds of the air, and thefish of the sea that passthrough the paths of theseas. O Lord, our Lord,how excellent is Yourname in all the earth! (Ps. 8:3-9). In spite of secular

humanism’s claim thatpeople are merely the mostevolved animal and morallylittle different from the ape,we believe instead that weare God’s special creation.We are, as the Bible

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declares, made in thelikeness of our Creator andgiven the awesome privilegeand responsibility to bestewards of the naturalworld (Gen. 1:27-28). Thatwe have dominion overnature cannot be denied.But Francis Schaeffer makesclear what that means forthe follower of Christ:

Man was given dominion over creation.This is true. But since theFall, man has exercisedthis dominion wrongly.He is a rebel who has sethimself at the center ofthe universe. . . . Becausehe is fallen, he exploitscreated things as thoughthey were nothing inthemselves, and asthough he has anautonomous right tothem. Surely then,Christians, who havereturned through thework of the Lord JesusChrist to fellowship withGod, and have a proper

place of reference to theGod who is there, shoulddemonstrate a proper useof nature. We are to havedominion over it, but weare not going to act asthough it were nothing initself or as though we willdo to nature everythingwe can do.12

A PLACE OFRETREAT

BBecause I grew up in a Christian home and attended church

all my life, I’ve gone oncountless “retreats.” In amilitary sense, of course, to retreat means to backaway from the enemy. This is often done to prevent defeat andcapture—with the ultimateaim to strengthen andreequip your own forces soyou can once again go onthe offensive and hopefullybe victorious. Churches,missions, and ministries

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sometimes use spiritualretreats for a similarpurpose—to providetemporary escape fromopposing physical andspiritual forces. Perhapstaking their cue fromwithdrawals into thewilderness mentioned in the Bible, some Christianministries bring their peopleto attractive and remotenatural areas for a retreat.

The wisdom of this isevident when we considerwhat we’re less likely to face in such places:• Too many voices

to attend to• Too many people

to relate to• An overload of news

(information)• An overabundance

of technologies• Extraneous noise• The need to talk

incessantly• Constant time pressure

Most of us could benefit from lessening these

manmade distractions bygoing on a “civilization fast.”But while there are someobvious physical benefitsfrom this sort of retreat, this list of negatives relatesprimarily to the spiritual.When we’re surrounded bythe many positive evidencesof God’s eternal power anddivine nature and are at thesame time relieved of thesemany negatives, our soulshave an opportunity to restand to remain open to thevoice and calling of God’sHoly Spirit.

While we tend to think ofwilderness retreats as beingimportant for adults, we often forget that childrenneed them as well. I wouldpropose, in fact, that childrentoday need these experiencesmore than ever.

When our own childrenwere young, my wife Margewas a homemaker, and heractivities with the kids weremostly domestic. When thethree boys became restless

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with toys, television, andhousehold tedium, siblingstrife frequently broke out.By the weekend, Marge wasready to turn them over tome so she could get out ofthe house and go somewhereto regain her sanity. So theboys and I would go fishing,or we would take a trip tothe ocean tide pools, thewooded hills, or the desert.“Were the boys okay foryou?” she’d sometimes askwhen we returned. Theyalways were. Eventually she stopped asking becauseshe came to realize thatthere is enchantment in thewilderness that can alter thebehavior of children. Bookshave even been writtenabout that kind of magic.

Rustic camps and lodges can be an importantalternative to comfortableresorts where seeminglyendless activities distractfrom the spiritual benefits of the wilderness. Outdooreducation offered in these

places can help young andold alike to gain knowledgethat will increase their senseof wonder in God’s creation.The solitude and quietnessoffered there provideopportunities for people to more thoroughlycontemplate their Creator’swords in the light of Hisworks. In so doing, they maygain wisdom similar to thatattained by King Solomon:

He spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanoneven to the hyssop thatsprings out of the wall; hespoke also of animals, ofbirds, of creeping things,and of fish. And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon (1 Ki. 4:33-34).When we neglect

the chances we have toobserve characteristics ofGod’s eternal power anddivine nature that can

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be discovered in the wildplaces, we are denyingourselves of knowledge thatis critical to our spiritualgrowth and witness.

Collectively, we buythousands of books to read about knowing God. What we often miss,however, is the opportunityto enter the wild places that showcase the wonder of God’s nature.

ENTERING THECATHEDRAL OFTHE WILDERNESS

CCertainly everyone can benefit fromcontemplation of

the divine in “the theater ofGod’s glory.” Our reflectionsthere will highlight ourfinitude, our vulnerability,and our utter and completedependence upon thecreating and sustainingpower of God. But thewilderness is even morethan a theater; it’s a

cathedral. And awareness of God’s holiness occursonly when we enter it with the right spirit.

The word cathedralcomes from the Latin term for “chair,” cathedra.Traditionally, a cathedral is the sacred place where achurch bishop has his chairof authority—his throne.

While church leaders aresupposed to keep us mindfulof our stewardship role inthe created order, too oftenthe trappings of modern lifeand our long-held prejudicesand traditions hinder ourcapacity to hear the “still,small voice” of God in our urban churches. Even Elijah needed to go into the wilderness to hear it,because stressful humaninteractions had dulled hisspiritual senses (1 Ki. 19).

For that reason, it’simportant for us to preserveand treasure the cathedral ofthe wilderness where we canbe reminded that God is on

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the throne and where His wordless revelation can still be clearly seen and valued. When attentivepeople enter a wilderness,they immediately recognizethe signs that it is holyground—a place where anautumn maple ablaze withcolor can have some of the same effects that Mosesexperienced in the flamingbush of his own wildernessencounter with God.

SPIRITUALINSIGHTSFROM THEWILDERNESS

TThroughout thecenturies since thebiblical canon was

established, poets and sageshave followed the exampleof Old Testament poets who gained a great deal of spiritual insight fromattending to the naturalfeatures of the wilderness.Some insights were

practical, some profound.Consider these:

William Cullen Bryant,on watching a solitarywaterfowl wing its waythrough autumn skies,reaffirmed the validity of his faith in God’s leading:“He who, from zone to zone, guides through theboundless sky thy certainflight, in the long way that Imust tread alone, will leadmy steps aright.” 13

Henry WadsworthLongfellow, ponderingdepressions on a sandybeach, drew this analogy:“Lives of great men allremind us we can make ourlives sublime; and, departing,leave behind us footprints onthe sands of time.” 14

Robert Frost, comparinghis life’s journey to a walk in the autumn forest, tells us that “two roads divergedin a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by,and that has made all thedifference.” 15

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Joaquin Miller, examining a tree, exulted,“Ten thousand leaves on every tree, and each a miracle to me; and yetthere be men who question God!” 16

Nineteenth-centuryEnglish novelist, poet, and preacher GeorgeMacDonald tells us why the natural world teaches us about our Creator:

If it were not for theoutside world, we shouldhave no inside world tounderstand things by.Least of all could weunderstand God withoutthese millions of sightsand sounds and scentsand motions weavingtheir endless harmonies.They come out of Hisheart to let us know alittle of what is in it.17

In perhaps the mostspiritually profound ofMacDonald’s novels, TheCurate’s Awakening, theauthor goes deeper into the

communion that can occurwhen our souls are touchedby the Holy Spirit who stillbroods over the surface ofthe creation (Gen. 1:2).

All about us in earth andair, wherever eye or earcan reach, there is apower ever breathingitself forth in signs. Nowit shows itself in a daisy,now in a waft of wind, acloud, a sunset—and thispower holds constantrelation with the darkand silent world withinus. The same God who is in us and upon whosetree we are buds, also isall about us. Inside, theSpirit; outside the Word.And the two are evertrying to meet in us; and when they meet,then the sign without and the longing withinbecome one. The man nomore walks in darkness,but in light, knowingwhere he is going.18

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TREASURING THEWILDERNESS

TThe wildernessprovides us withwonderful natural

resources. But it is so much more than a place of economic opportunity.When we look at anAppalachian mountain as mostly a mound of coalor a hill of timber for us touse for our own purposes,we may be failing to see itcomprehensively. A secondlook can help us to see the same mountain as a watershed, a climateregulator, a source of cleanair, a shield against flooding,a habitat for wild creatures,a thing of beauty, a place of peace and solitude, and a location for recreation.And we are not seeing it as God sees it—in all itsglory with all its purposes. It’s part of our God-giventrust of the earth to have acomprehensive and biblical

vision when looking at thewilderness.

Followers of Christ haveso many reasons to valuethe wilderness. Because we see the natural world as entrusted to us by aninfinitely wise Creator, it’s not difficult to see thewilderness as a treasure of inestimable worth. Itallows the wild creatures to fulfill their God-givenresponsibility to multiplyand fill their portion of the earth.

Caring for the wildernessis an aspect of the Creator’sdominion and stewardshipmandated to us. Further, ithelps to preserve our ownhealth and to assure ourcontinued survival. Furtherstill, it no doubt holds many future benefits we arecurrently not even aware of.

Nancy Newhall remindedus over 50 years ago, in abook featuring the masterfulblack-and-white wildernessphotos of Ansel Adams,

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that the wilderness holdsanswers to questions manhas not yet learned to ask.

Finally, we come to anobservation by John Muir:“Like most other things notapparently useful to man,[poison oak] has few friends,and the blind question,‘Why was it made?’ goes on and on with never aguess that first of all it was made for itself.” 19

Muir was hinting at apurpose for the natural world that the patriarch Joblearned when God paradedbefore his mental vision theentire cosmos He created. In the longest direct addressof God in the Scriptures (the129 verses of Job 38–41),the Creator Himself usesnumerous parts of thenatural world that arebeyond human control,human understanding, and human utility to humbleJob with the reality that wecannot know all thepurposes of God for wild

creatures and wild places. The apostle John,

however, does reveal to usone of God’s purposes: Hecreated all things for Hispleasure (Rev. 4:11 KJV). Soif the natural world was inpart created to give Godpleasure, are we not beingirreverent when we forgetthat while people canpreserve, conserve, ordestroy the wilderness, only God can create it?

In the course of ourenjoying and properlyvaluing the wilderness, wecan be motivated by thewords of Isaac Watts:

I sing the mighty power of God

that made the mountains rise, That spread the flowing

seas abroad and built the lofty skies.

I sing the wisdom that ordained

the sun to rule the day; The moon shines full

at His command and all the stars obey.

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I sing the goodness of the Lord

that filled the earth with food; He formed the creatures

with His word and then pronounced

them good. Lord, how Thy wonders

are displayed where’er I turn my eye:

If I survey the ground I tread

or gaze upon the sky!

There’s not a plant or flower below

but makes Thy glories known; And clouds arise

and tempests blow by order from Thy throne;

While all that borrows life from Thee

is ever in Thy care, And everywhere that man can be,

Thou, God, art present there.

THE GOD WHO CARES

WW hen I was amember of the

Audubon Society,I often found that a sense ofsadness and hopelessnesspervaded our meetings—especially when all thethreats to wild habitats wereenumerated. It seemed thatfew in attendance believedthere was a Creator, or ifthere was one He didn’t care about the things theycherished.

But He does care. Hecares enough to promise thatin the future, all nature willbe refreshed, restored, andreunified (Acts 3:19-21; Eph.1:7-10). More important, thisrestoration will show howmuch He cares for us, eventhough we have idolized andabused the living world thathas been entrusted to us (Rom. 1:18-32).

According to God’s otherrevelation, the Bible, the

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Creator Himself has come to our rescue (Jn. 1:1-14).This Savior said, “Greaterlove has no one than this,than to lay down one’s lifefor his friends” (Jn. 15:13).With these words, Jesusanticipated how He wouldcarry out our rescue. Byalluding to His own ultimatesacrifice, He showed whyHe could say, “God so lovedthe world that He gave Hisonly begotten Son, thatwhoever believes in Himshould not perish but haveeverlasting life” (Jn. 3:16).

The apostle John wrote ofJesus, “He was in the world,and the world was madethrough Him, and the worlddid not know Him. He cameto His own, and His own did not receive Him. But asmany as received Him, tothem He gave the right tobecome children of God, to those who believe in Hisname” (Jn. 1:10-12).

If our Creator has provenHis love for us in this way,

we can have a confidence inthe future for ourselves andall creation that is not justwishful thinking.

J. B. Phillips’ NewTestament paraphrase puts it like this:

The whole creation is ontiptoe to see the wonderfulsight of the sons of Godcoming into their own. . . .In the end the whole ofcreated life will be rescuedfrom the tyranny ofchange and decay, andhave its share in thatmagnificent liberty which can only belong to the children of God!(Rom. 8:19,21).

Endnotes:

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1. “A Windstorm in the Forests,” TheMountains of California; 2. Toward a Theology of Nature, p.11; 3. The Musician’s Quest, pp.95-96; 4. God in the Dock, p.148; 5. Literary andHistorical Miscellanies, p.413; 6. American Poets and Their Theology, p.25; 7. The Yosemite,p.198; 8. “Essays on American Scenery,”American Monthly Magazine (Jan. 1836); 9. Walking, p.275; 10. “The Nature ofVegetation”; 11. Home Economics, p.146; 12. Pollution and the Death of Man, pp.71-72;13. “To a Waterfowl”; 14. “A Psalm of Life”;15. “The Road Not Taken”; 16. “Twenty CaratsFine”; 17. The Highlander’s Last Song, p.153;18. The Curate’s Awakening, p.184; 19. My FirstSummer in the Sierra.



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Celebrating The Wonder Of The Wilderness