Rooted: Reflections on the Gardens in Scripture - Hardcover

Brimming with beauty and full of metaphors in the life of Christ, gardens are symbolic places of birth, death, and resurrection.

Respected author, pastor, and gardener Murray Andrew Pura revisits the five major gardens of the Bible and explores the spiritual meanings they symbolize. From creation to Revelation, readers will renew their acquaintance with the gospel and glean new insights into leading a fulfilling Christian life.

Through meaningful stories and an intimate knowledge of scriptural symbolism, Pura demonstrates how Jesus' life and the life of the contemporary believer are intertwined. Each of the five major gardens has something to say to Christians today:

The garden of Eden, and our fall from innocence
En Gedi, and God's love for us
Gethsemane, and suffering
The Garden Tomb, and the hope of resurrection
The River of Life, and God's promises

As Pura unearths fresh insight about the deeper symbolism rooted in each garden, readers are nourished by a renewed understanding of their role in God's growing kingdom.

Murray Pura was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, just north of the Dakotas and Minnesota. His first novel was released in Toronto in 1988 and was a finalist for the Dartmouth Book Award. Since that time he has published ten more novels, two collections of short stories, and several nonfiction titles including the Zondervan books Rooted and Streams and the Baker devotional Majestic & Wild. He has been a finalist for several awards in the US and Canada and in 2012 won the Word Award of Toronto for Best Historical Novel. Murray lives and writes in southwestern Alberta and is currently published by Barbour, Baker, Harper One, Zondervan, and Harvest House - he works with publishers in Canada, America, the UK, and Holland. His releases for 2013 include the novels: Ashton Park, The Rose of Lancaster County, A Road Called Love, Seven Oaks, The Painted Sky, Whispers of a New Dawn, Beneath the Dover Sky, The Name of the Hawk, and An Amish Family Christmas. His diverse writing spans many genres including: historical fiction, contemporary fiction, literary fiction, romance, adventure, western, suspense, fantasy, Amish, and inspirational. Most of his work is available in ebook format for Kindle, Kobo, and Nook as well as in paperback.