Filled With Awe and Wonder!

This week, Kim and I received a picture of our grandson Jesse looking out the sliding glass doors of his home at snow that had fallen overnight where he and his parents live. As I looked at the picture (which some of you may have seen on my Facebook page), I realized that this was really his first time seeing (i.e., being aware of) snow. (He’s now about 17 months old.) In fact, as I looked more closely at the picture it struck me that Jesse was filled with a sense of awe and wonder in a way that only a child can be. After all, he had never seen this white stuff that was covering the ground!  

Unfortunately, as we get older we too often lose our sense of awe and wonder. We grow so  accustomed to the world around us that, we no longer look at freshly fallen snow or a flower breaking through the ground or a budding tree as we once did. Things that were once new and awe-inspiring to us become commonplace. The things we may have once celebrated go almost unnoticed. Thus, we walk through life without any sense of awe and wonder. 

The worst part of this is that we as followers of Jesus even get so used to the Scriptures and what we read about God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit that we fail to be filled with any sense of wonder. Too often we take for granted God’s work in our lives, his daily provision and faithfulness to us, and the many blessings that he pours upon us. Rather than celebrate who God is and his incredible gifts, we enter into worship services out of duty, do our daily Bible readings and say our prayers out of habit or obligation, and pass through our days with little thought of all that God has done for us. It’s obvious that we have lost our sense of awe and wonder. 

This week our church has been having a week of prayer based on a theme that has been passed along to us by our Assemblies of God leaders. The theme is entitled, “Awesome: Exploring the Nature and Names of Jesus.”  Throughout the week we have focused on various aspects of Jesus Christ, seeking to better understand who he is and what he offers to us. Most of all, we’ve been reminded that as we consider the person and work of Jesus we ought to be struck with a sense of awe and wonder for truly he is an awesome Savior and we ought not take him for granted. 

Hebrews 1:3 (which has been our theme verse) reads, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” (NIV)  Take a moment to read that verse again and reflect upon it. Can you catch a fresh glimpse of Jesus to the point of feeling a sense of awe and wonder? Can you sense how truly awesome and wonderful he is? 

As we go through this new year, let’s ask God to make us keenly aware of who he is, all that he has done for us, and the beauty of the world around us. Let’s be people who live their lives, like that little child, filled with awe and wonder. 

Happy New Year! Have a great day! 

- Pastor Tim Harris