Wonder

Wonder – I wonder – I feel wonder. 

God created wonders – the Grand Canyon, the universe, a tiny flower.

I’m sure you remember the days when, as a child, you felt wonder at things.  We would lie down in the grass and look up at the sky - see the clouds floating by, or the birds soaring high.  And we would be amazed that the birds didn’t fly into each other as they flew in formation.

As the clouds swirled around and changed shapes we tried to pick out a picture or two – was that a dragon, a dog, a castle.  Our eyes were full of the wonder of it all.

That was wonder and that was childhood.  We’re not there anymore, but we still wonder, and we still – if we think about it, feel wonder.  Let’s look at the Bible.  I imagine that Methuselah continued to feel wonder in his world at age 969.

Genesis 5:25 – 27 - When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech.  After the became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years more and had other sons and daughters.  Altogether, Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died.

He had a child at over 187 years old – that must have been a cause for wonder.

God designed us to question, and to feel awe and amazement, and if we’re created in His image (which we are), then He must feel wonder too. 

That’s an amazing thought.  Do you think that when God looks at His universe, He feels amazed at what He created?  Here are a few beautiful verses that talk about God’s wonders – the totally amazing awe inspiring created things and miracles.

Psalm 40:5 – David wrote in His prayer

Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.

And in Psalm 65:8 David is praising God by saying

The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy.

And there are people in the Bible who wondered, who questioned.   

Luke 24:12  Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away. He wondered to himself what had happened. 

Jesus rose from the dead and Peter wondered how it happened!  And then when He saw the risen Jesus, he must have been full of amazement and wonder.

How about Moses?

Genesis 3 tells us that Moses was tending the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law.  He came to Horeb, the mountain of God and the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that, though the bush was on fire, it did not burn up, so Moses decided to go have a look at it.

God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”

“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”  Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

Moses was curious, then afraid.  Can you picture yourself confronted with a burning bush?  That was amazing, but the truly amazing thing was that God spoke to him. 

And that’s something that we can still feel wonder about – He speaks to us in His word.  He tells us the way we should live.  But He also shows us Himself – His character, His love, His forgiveness when He speaks to us in the Bible. 

God showed His children wonders – miracles, signs, burning bushes, the dead rising, the lame, blind and sick healed, and He still shows His children wonders.  If we will stop to look around us – even in nature He shows himself. 

Spring is the season of wonders.  We see the world coming to life again after its cold winter rest – that speaks volumes about the creator of that life.    

Romans 1:20 (NIV) tells us

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, . . .

Do you ever think about that?  Do you understand the power of God that shows up in the mighty, the solid, the enormous things we see?  Or His creativeness, that we see all the time, around us.

Or do you understand the love of God that shows up so clearly in the beautiful, the peaceful, the tender things in this world?  I believe He gave us all these wonders, so that we might know Him better.  I believe He wants us to know Him better because He loves us and wants us to recognize His wonders.  He wants to show us – because He loves us.