Don't You Just Wonder?

The Wonder of Water – its beauty and power can beggar words - hurricanes and rainbows, the thunder of Niagara, the mystique of a rainforest, the spectacle of the Serengeti.
Morning mist on a river can take your breath away with its majesty. Beyond the science, we stand in wonder and awe.

Another side of Wonder is our curious desire to know - what makes ice float, how can ice-bergs sink a Titanic? We wonder how to control the rain, how to harvest monsoons for India’s famers, manage cod stocks and provide adequate sanitation for Gaza. The need to know leads to serious focused enquiry, research, initiative and discovery.

Human spirituality involves both responses – joy and curiosity, gratitude and responsibility. Humility and vision flourish in wondering minds. Faith and courage lead to action as well as wonder. Faith without courage is hypocrisy and pretense.

The Bible talks a lot about Water in hundreds of references to rivers, clouds, springs and wells, thirst, dew, rain, ice and snow, floods, drought, oceans, storms, water for washing, baptism, agriculture and drinking, Jesus walking on water, turning water into wine and calling himself ‘living water’ – the list goes on and on. It’s a ‘wonder-full’ book.

This blog probes both sides of wonder, looking at the marvels of water and pondering some of the complex issues of living in a water-dependent world. We explore connections between Water and God, the inter-face between an ancient Story and the demands of planet Earth in the 21st century.

I've written a book called The Wonder of Water as a series of reflections on 130 of these Biblical texts. Until it is ready for publication I plan to post these reflections three times a week.
If you like what you see, you can subscribe to receive each post automatically via e-mail. Even if you don’t like what you see, I’d love to hear your comments and suggestions.

I hope readers from other traditions will provide additional insights that complement or critique my musings. And when the book is ready, I’ll let you know so you can get a copy for your friends.

David Knight