Where is Your Wonder?

            This past week our students continued looking at the series Rhythm that they will be working through over the next month.  Each week includes a discussion question that our parents and their students are encouraged to wrestle through together.  The second week’s question read as follows, “This second week, students will be challenged to look at God in new ways. Many times we find that we are so familiar with “churchy” descriptions of God that we forget who He really is. And when we forget who God is, how awesome and surprising He can be, then we are tempted to turn our attention and affection to other things and our lives fall out of tune. In week two students will be challenged to discover a God who is bigger than our attempts to define Him. Discuss with your teen ways that God has surprised you and your family with how big He is.”

            This particular thought is something that I have often wrestled with throughout my faith journey.  As I was going through this lesson with our students this week, I began to find myself wrestling with this theme again.  As we read the familiar passage of Adam and Eve falling into temptation in the garden, we discussed how crazy it was that they traded their “wonder” of God for a measly piece of fruit?  But don’t we do the same thing so often?  We trade our wonder and sense of awe that should be directed at God for something as small as the latest Facebook post or tech gadget.  We surrender what should be an amazing sense of wonder towards our Creator for so much less.

            In my own life this is most evident in my love for the Boston Red Sox’s.  As a freshman in college I chose to start following this team, simply to spite my best friend who is a Yankee’s fan.  However, this passion quickly evolved into following a team that I grew to love.  It has become my passion which is evident by walking into my office or taking a glance in my closet.  I am proud to wear the various Red Sox attire that I have acquired over the years, even in challenging seasons like this one, and cheer them on no matter what.  I was thrilled a little over a year ago to go to Fenway Park for the first time and see a Red Sox’s game this year for the first time as well.  It has been an amazing journey that has demonstrated the joys and frustrations of life. 

 

However, as I thought about my passion for the Red Sox’s I began to think about my own passion for God.  Do I get as excited when I open my Bible, sing praises to God, or hear a message about His love for me, as I do when I watch the Red Sox play?  Do the words of the Bible impact my heart the same way I feel when one of my favorite players has an outstanding game?  Do I expect the same kind of miracles when I pray for those I love as when I “pray” the Sox’s get a win?  In all honesty, I find myself falling extremely short in this area.  If I really examined my heart and you too, I think we could admit that there are several things that steal our “wonder” of God.  We are quick to place the wonder that should be solely reserved for Him on other things, dreams, or wishes.

God desires to surprise us by demonstrating how big He actually is.  The problem to me seems to be that we fixate on things that are smaller, temporary, or have an expiration date rather than the vastness of God’s love for us.  What would your life look like if you truly embraced the wonder of God in your daily life?  What would your outlook be if every time you opened your Bible you were amazed at the stories in a new and fresh way?  What if you began to pray for miracles that seemed impossible to us, but were simple for God?  I challenge you this week, to truly start to celebrate the wonder of God and celebrate how big He truly is!