09/30/2024
Pastor Batterson (Win the Day) offers an energetic invitation for believers to notice “everyday miracles—and praise God for them.” Specifically, he calls on readers to cultivate a “holy curiosity” about God and the complexities of his creation, from the intricacies of the human body—the retina alone houses 10 million light-sensitive cells and transmits data through the optic nerve at a rate of 10 million bits per second—to the splendor of nature. Simply spending time outside can broaden one’s perspective, Batterson writes, reminding readers that God commanded Abraham to leave his tent and look up at the stars, which symbolized the number of his descendants (“As long as Abraham was inside his tent, he was staring at an eight-foot ceiling. The second he stepped outside? The sky was the limit”). Batterson’s enthusiasm is infectious, and the links he draws between the natural world and the divine are creative, though they’re sometimes undercut by tired critiques of digital culture (“Smartphones aren’t making us smarter.... Most of us spend more time gazing at screens than we do stargazing, and then we wonder why we’ve lost touch with the Creator”). Still, Christians seeking a fresh approach to their faith will be rewarded. (Nov.)