Immersed

Category: Living World

  • For the good of creation

    For the good of creation

    What provides the anchor for our lives? Life comes with many ups and downs that can leave us feeling adrift. Often it is the love of others that roots and sustains us through all things. The late Queen Elizabeth II once said that her favourite Bible verses came in Paul’s letter to the Romans, where he affirms that “nothing can separate us from the love of Christ” (Rom 8:35-39). In a life of many changes and challenges the love of God that is seen in Christ provides a sure and safe anchor. This is the love that gave everything on the cross that we might know life and salvation. These are good verses to meditate on, the culmination of a chapter that starts by affirming that “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (8:1).

    It was with these thoughts in mind that I bought the recent book by Tom Wright about “the heart of Romans” which looks at this whole chapter. The book itself is a bit of a mix – not quite popular (Greek is helpful!) and not quite academic (not enough Greek and references!). But what struck me in reading this book was it showed how Romans 8 is not just about God’s love for me, but about how we are created in love for the good of all creation. At a time when creation is struggling what we need are ways of life and faith that are both realistic and hopeful. This chapter starts and ends with the great hope of a divine love that will overcome all the obstacles and establish the inheritance from God of a new heavens and a new earth. But this promise is lived out in a world in which we struggle to do the good that is needed and a creation which is groaning, subject to the frustrations of not being all it was created to be 98:20,22). Given the environmental crisis this image of the world resonates with the science and feelings of the present reality.

    But what are we to do? Wright likes to challenge those who believe there is nothing we can do, saying we need to wait for a future heaven. Rather, he points to the verses that speak here of the good way of life we need to live now (8:2-13). God fills us with the Holy Spirit and leads us that we might be changed for the better. We need to listen and follow the good ways (the law of the Spirit), turning away through our lives from what harms creation. More than this, we are to lament with the pain of the world in the way shown us in the Psalms (8:22-27). There can be wordless cries of pain, frustration and loss in and through which the Spirit is interceding with us towards a better creation. Just as in creation the Spirit hovered over the darkness to bring light and life (Gen 1) so always God has been working to bring together a people of the Spirit who will bring light and life to the whole of creation. This is our vocation which is lived out in the glory of weakness, in the way of the cross, that the hope of the resurrection may become real (as in John’s Gospel). Here is a realistic yet hopeful way for the good of all.

    Wright sketches out the whole biblical narrative with many detailed references to show how God has sought to fulfil this purpose through history. The great themes of creation, fall, exodus, exile and return we see in the Old Testament are transfigured by Paul in the light of his experience of Jesus the Messiah and the Holy Spirit. The maturity of Wright’s book lies in its integration of many themes in ways that resonate and search us deeper. This is built on meticulous analysis of virtually every word of the chapter and so is not an easy read. Whilst I’m not convinced by all his arguments and it feels rather dated in its assumptions, it is a great stimulus to read the Bible afresh and integrate it better with our practice.

    Wright translates verse 28, “God works all things together for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.” This may be different to other translations but there are good reasons for it. Facing the challenges of life in a time when creation is groaning, we can be assured that “God works” in ways that bring “all things together for good.” This is the God of never ending, generous love who works for the life and assurance of all. God works this out in the way of Jesus and by the Spirit with us. We are part of the way forward, a vital part of the way in which God seeks to bring the good purposes of creation into being. It is not a way that avoids pain but rather a journey with Jesus in the ways of weakness, groaning, intercession, lament and prayer… that fuels our actions with others for a better world.

    Our anchor is the love of God that we see in Christ made real by the Spirit. Yet it is not an anchor that chains us down but sets us free to keep praying and working for the good of all. May we be set free that the glory of God may be seen in and through us for the good of all creation.

  • Review of “Is a River Alive”

    Those of us used to reading and re-reading Robert Macfarlanes writings are familiar with different streams of thought being explored even as they merge together into a journey of discovery which flows over us to produce fresh ways of seeing and living. His latest and well publicised work on rivers takes a slightly different approach that entices or disappoints depending on our expectations and background. It is as if he has pared back the tributaries to focus on the flow of three main world rivers and the obstacles they face. This has created space to expand the narratives of the others who share and inspire his journey, nurturing hope for a living world that is being systematically polluted.

    What is the aim of this journey? Partly to explore the nature of “life” as it relates to rivers in conversation with the global Rights of Nature movement as it seeks to protect such life through local, legal and political initiatives. It seeks languages for animacy and is a work of pondering the questions, raising objections and ultimately finding answers in lives lived and rivers experienced. More than this, it moves from facts and science towards feelings and transformations. This is the way Macfarlane sees his own journey as a rational modernist, tempted to “live in his head,” towards a greater participation in something greater than himself, beyond and yet within the matter of a river… to be “rivered.” This is a kind of spiritual journey inspired through the animism of some of those he travels with, although there is little depth to the spiritual and religious insight despite the climax of the book being a profound experience that continues to shape Macfarlane.

    The form of the book seems a refined development of that of his last book, Underland, if with fewer landscapes; the content of the book appears to revisit the sublime from his first book, Mountains of the Mind, if redirected to an experience of rivers. As usual, Macfarlane shows a profound grasp of language with the poetic description often inviting a contemplative amazement. The way he seeks to shape sentences and paragraphs in ways inspired by rivers will need repeated re-reading to fully appreciate. The gentle way he desires to face the harsh realities whilst nurturing hope is an education in sensitive learning. These come out of his amazing friendships with remarkable people, conveyed through longer narratives that at times struggle to carry the weight of thoughts and emotions placed on them. It is as if Macfarlane is stretching himself in a new direction and is still finding his way.

    Rather than seeing this book through the publishers hype of greatness, I would suggest it is better read as the humble start of a fresh journey. In the flow of this journey our weaknesses are as important as our achievements. It is book particularly suitable to those struggling to immerse themselves in the world, given a cultural background of standing above it, seeing its value in primarily financial terms. It is also helpful for those seeking to go beyond the secular towards the sense of “something more” that is beyond us. We can see ourselves alongside Macfarlane being drawn into a greater sense of the life of the world and drawn outwards towards what lies beyond materialism, rationalism and capitalism that might reshape them all. The book focuses more on the first of these and the travel into what lies beyond requires much deeper resources than are provided in the vague animism mentioned. Whilst leading the way into a better understanding of the living reality of nature the book is only a first tentative step into exploring the divine Life glimpsed in landscape. There are many tributaries from the Christian spiritual tradition that can feed and nourish a deeper journey that would take this book forwards.

    We can be grateful for Macfarlanes willingness to step out in new ways, stretch his impressive writing ability even further, risk admitting his need to change and grow, and find creative ways of working with others for the good of the living world in times of crisis. This book can be a means of taking forward our immersion in the world if best read alongside books by those more used to articulating the varieties and creativity of spiritual experience. I found myself longing that Macfarlane had explored more here and challenged to attempt to articulate better what is missing. May the living waters of the Spirit lead us all in risky ways of experiencing creation and developing together for the good of all.

    (c) 2025 Andy Lord

    Further reading: Andy Lord, Landscape, Soul & Spirit, SLG Press, 2025. A very good academic contemplative study is Douglas Christie, Blue Sapphire of the Mind, OUP. There is also the more popular but stretching approach of Beldan Lane, The Great Conversation, OUP 2019.