adamschoenmaker's review
5.0
Brilliant. I love the God of things and appreciate the things of God more deeply as a result of this book.
bee_s's review
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
this is a great book to read. very thought-provoking and grounded (for the most part) in Scripture. i thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would recommend to anyone and everyone!
jillie's review
Short read with some good info. If you’ve ever read anything on this topic before this doesn’t add that many new things to the table, but I’d recommend it. My favorite takeaway happened early on:
The world is theomorphic: “things take the form they do because they are created to reveal God”
The world is theomorphic: “things take the form they do because they are created to reveal God”
“We describe God as “the Rock” not just because rocks exist and they provide a good picture of safety and stability. Rocks exist because God is the Rock: the Rock of our salvation, the Rock who provides water in the desert, the Rock whose work is perfect and all his ways are just. . . . Ever since the beginning, the surface of this planet has been covered in rocks, and every one of them has been preaching a message of the faithfulness, security, and steadfastness of God.”
5/30/23 - 6/8/23
klbaughn's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
absolutely life changing. such an inspiring and unique book.
aebooksandwords's review
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
ivantable's review
5.0
I love Christian writers that immerse us into the world of the Bible rather than use the Bible to speak to our lives, and Andrew Wilson is one of the best and here he sings. (His co-authored book with Alastair Roberts on the echoes of Exodus would a good follow-up.)
panda_incognito's review
5.0
This book features short, essay-like chapters, and each one focuses on a different common object, animal, or experience. Andrew Wilson writes about things like bread, light, donkeys, trumpets, and earthquakes, and he explores significant examples of these things from throughout the Bible. He focuses on Old Testament imagery in the first half of the book, while he focuses on the New Testament in the second, but in all of this, he maintains a big picture view of the Bible. Even when he is writing about a particular part of Scripture, he draws in parallels, quotations, and examples from other parts of the Bible, providing context for these images within the scope of redemptive history.
This is a very unique book. Even though I have read before about why physical matter and experiences are spiritually important, and have read before about Scriptural metaphors, this was my first time reading a book that focused completely on what physical things mentioned in Scripture tell us about God. Andrew Wilson does a great job exploring this topic without overreaching or making tenuous connections, and he uses different verses from throughout the Bible to support his points, along with an understanding of its ancient historical context. I found this book very interesting and encouraging, and appreciate his emphasis on seeing God's glory through the ordinary, physical world around us.
Some of the metaphors build in context with each other, so I enjoyed reading this book straight through, but the short chapters would also be great for daily readings. Each chapter is brief and self-contained, typically lasting for five pages, and Wilson does an amazing job of writing a satisfying introduction and conclusion every time. In my experience, the hardest part of writing an essay or article is getting the opening hook and ending right, but Wilson handles this perfectly again and again, and each chapter feels both thought-provoking and complete. I highly recommend this book to other Christians, or to people who are interested in learning more about the Bible, and this book is wonderful for both teenagers and adults.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This is a very unique book. Even though I have read before about why physical matter and experiences are spiritually important, and have read before about Scriptural metaphors, this was my first time reading a book that focused completely on what physical things mentioned in Scripture tell us about God. Andrew Wilson does a great job exploring this topic without overreaching or making tenuous connections, and he uses different verses from throughout the Bible to support his points, along with an understanding of its ancient historical context. I found this book very interesting and encouraging, and appreciate his emphasis on seeing God's glory through the ordinary, physical world around us.
Some of the metaphors build in context with each other, so I enjoyed reading this book straight through, but the short chapters would also be great for daily readings. Each chapter is brief and self-contained, typically lasting for five pages, and Wilson does an amazing job of writing a satisfying introduction and conclusion every time. In my experience, the hardest part of writing an essay or article is getting the opening hook and ending right, but Wilson handles this perfectly again and again, and each chapter feels both thought-provoking and complete. I highly recommend this book to other Christians, or to people who are interested in learning more about the Bible, and this book is wonderful for both teenagers and adults.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.