Call to Cultivate

Ours is the age of anxiety. But there is a key to unlocking true shalom in this fallen world. We were made for gardens. By God’s design, we were meant to inhabit the Garden of Eden surrounded by life, beauty, abundance, and perfect peace. But after our fall from paradise, the grueling task of learning how to live well on this earth in the aftermath of Eden began. This is no easy task. In our age of “fluid modernity,” everything changes all the time. Marriages collapse. Families break apart. Nomadic lifestyles abound. Politics divide us. Digital confusion envelops us. Overshadowing everything, anxiety dogs our steps, stoking fear and not faith. But there is hope for frazzled and fractured people like us. It is found in an unlikely place—the Old Testament. But not just any corner of the Old Testament. The spiritual detox we need is nestled deep within the Book of Jeremiah. In Jeremiah 29:5, we read of the call to “plant gardens.” An overflowing fountain of spiritual wellness hides in this shimmering phrase. In A Call to Cultivate, bestselling author and theologian Dr. Owen Strachan helps readers to replace a mindset fueled by anxiety with a biblical focus on cultivation. As the Israelite exiles came to Babylon, God called them to plant roots and cultivate shalom—holistic peace and flourishing—in the midst of pain, anxiety, and chaos. Through wisdom gleaned from Jeremiah 29 and throughout Scripture, readers will learn how to:Live as modern-day exiles and serve as loving witnesses in a fallen worldCultivate true shalom through gospel graceCreate families, foster deep connections, and experience the joy of deep livingSeek Christ—not the tantalizing promise of political power—to fulfill our longing for EdenThere is something better than frayed nerves, rootless wandering, and consuming digital content. It is the call to cultivate living things. Now is the time to strengthen churches, develop a vocation, and go deep with God. We were made for gardens, and we were made for the Gardener, Jesus Christ, and the new Eden he will create.