Hello! Hope you’re well. Here’s the latest:

Creation, part 4: Flora

Part 4 of the Creation series is live today. In this chapter, we dive into the wonder that is Genesis 1:11-13. I love how the Message starts this passage: “God spoke: ‘Earth, green up!’”

It was such a joy to imagine Yahweh crafting vegetation—I hope it leads you into some fruitful beholding.

Tough to Choose…

I’d love to know before you listen: Do you have a particular plant you’d definitely include if you were creating this episode? Some species of flora you couldn’t imagine leaving out? Reply and let me know.

Here are a few of the ones I just had to put in:

Oh—and we go into a bit of detail with four particular trees. Listen carefully and I’ll give you 10 points for each one you guess before I name it. :)

Speaking of Trees

Have you read Peter Wohlleben’s The Hidden Life of Trees? It’s fascinating. A couple of excerpts:

“But the most astonishing thing about trees is how social they are. The trees in a forest care for each other, sometimes even going so far as to nourish the stump of a felled tree for centuries after it was cut down by feeding it sugars and other nutrients, and so keeping it alive. Only some stumps are thus nourished. Perhaps they are the parents of the trees that make up the forest of today.”

[Note: this section of the book is worth balancing with other scientific opinions regarding the interactions of trees and fungi.]

“There are more life forms in a handful of forest soil than there are people on the planet.”

The color of organisms and objects is dictated by the color of the reflected light. And in the case of leaves on trees, this color is green.

But why don't we see leaves as black? Why don't they absorb all light? Chlorophyll helps leaves process light. If trees processed light super-efficiently, there would be hardly any left over-and the forest would then look as dark during the day as it does at night. Chlorophyll, however, has one disadvantage. It has a so-called green gap, and because it cannot use this part of the color spectrum, it has to reflect it back unused. This weak spot means that we can see this photosynthetic leftover, and that's why almost all plants look deep green to us. What we are really seeing is waste light, the rejected part that trees cannot use.

Package Deal

Let’s not forget, of course, that when Yahweh creates plant life He’s authoring a slew of fundamental inventions: DNA, cells, photosynthesis, chlorophyll, cellular respiration, net oxygen production, symbiosis, proteins, hormones, etc. Amazing.

Life in the Wilderness

On our recent trip to Arizona, my wife and I got to visit the Desert Botanical Garden outside of Phoenix. So, so good. The life that thrives in desert biomes is unexpectedly diverse and wildly beautiful. Looking from a distance, you’d think deserts were wastelands—but no. Part of me wonders if perhaps there were no deserts when the world was new, but this botanical garden visit makes me think again.

Enjoy

Happy listening! I loved being with Yahweh on Day 3 and I hope you do as well.

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Gratefully,
Justin

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