[418 words]
One of the many joys of watching children grow is seeing the way that they approach life with a sense of wonder. They are inquisitive and want to know why things look the way they do and why they work the way they do. Then, and this is even better, they have the ability to be truly impressed by what they have seen and what they have learned. Their eyes get really wide. Their mouths often drop open. They may even say something like, “Wow… “
It can be a little bit sad to consider them growing out of such a stage.
However, what is exponentially worse, is to see an adult, a professed follower of Jesus, to lose their sense of wonder with the Almighty. How many Christians do we know (ourselves included) who are seemingly unimpressed by God anymore? We all know them. I’m seeking not to be one myself. We may still attend worship services and Bible classes, but such is done with little to no enthusiasm. We need to live with a sense of wonder.
Consider this example: Walt Disney did everything he could to shield his two daughters from publicity. He drove them to school, took them to athletics and other lessons, just as any normal father would. One daughter, Diane, recalled how she first learned that her father was “different.” When she was six years old, one of her friends at school broke the news to her that it was her own father that was responsible for creating their favorite movies and characters.
That night, when her father came home from work, at first she was in awe. Then she began to think that he did not look any different. He did not look famous. She approached him and asked some questions.
Diane: “Daddy, are you Walt Disney?”
Walt: “Yes, honey.”
Diane: “I mean, are you the Walt Disney?”
He nodded in affirmation.
Diane: “Daddy, please give me your autograph.”
The God who made the universe and raised Jesus from the dead is the same One who knows us, loves us, hears us and cares for us. Such things should fill us with awe.
“O, Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth…when I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” (Ps. 8:1, 3-4)
Bart Warren
S. Green St. church of Christ
Glasgow, KY