Have You Ever Seen the Wonder?

I’m grateful that I grew up in a strong family environment, with parents who found ways for my brother and I to experience the world at its fullest. We savored food grown in the garden, or game hunted afield. We went to concerts together, from choral Christmas music to Pink Floyd. We took road trip vacations more often than not, in a time without built-in DVD players; I remember watching the country go by and wondering at the places and people and stories we passed. We swam in boundary waters, laughed with family and friends, shared books with each other, sat around the wood stove, listened to coyotes at night. “Wow” was as common a word as “hello” or “goodbye.”

I think this foundation has led me to do the same with my family. Not only do I love making memories with them, I also love seeing my three kids wonder at new experiences. Many of them are old to me now, but through them I get to revisit the joy and awe of a clear, quiet night under the stars, or a twist ending of a good book, or a perfect chocolate chip cookie right out of the oven. I feel alive running around an amusement park with them, exploring a forest on foot trails, or seeing their laughter the first time they meet Chunk, Sloth, Mikey and the rest of the gang in The Goonies. 

To take a familiar but favorite experience, and to see someone else experience it for the first time is a gift.

And that’s what Jesus gives us. In Christ we have a chance to view the world with a new sense of wonder and awe. Creation is beautiful and full of life and color. Relationships long worn thin are given a second chance at substantive connection and love. The world is not a place full of danger; it’s a place full of opportunity. To share, to love, to heal, to restore: this is the invitation of the Gospel. We get to join in the work of re-creation that God is doing in us and around us. And then we get to invite others in, and experience the wonder of it all themselves.

What stands in the way of you seeing the wonder of Jesus today? “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8:38-39)

Nothing comes between us and God’s love. Jesus paid the price completely on the cross. 

Wonder at the deep and powerful love of God, shown in Christ Jesus. 

Wonder at the gift of each day, each minute, each breath.

Wonder, and walk in the light.

(Inspired by the song “Wonder,” from Hillsong United.)