Strong spirits: wonder-full
To be filled with wonder is to be in awe, to be amazed, to have your mind and heart opened to the extraordinary, to be child-like.
What do you wonder about? What fills you with wonder? Those are not the same question, are they? You can wonder about a lot of things, even be pretty cynical about some of them. But to be filled with wonder is to be in awe, to be amazed, to have your mind and heart opened to the extraordinary, to be child-like.
The Bible is a most wonder-full book - filled with the amazing, the spectacular, the miraculous, the mysterious. Read the prophets, the psalms, the gospels, John's Revelation. Read them with your mind and heart open and be prepared to be blown away.
Jesus never said a lot about wonder... he didn't need to. He did wonderful things, up to, and especially his atoning death on the cross. He was - and is - the wonder. Over and over in the gospels we find people totally overwhelmed with his gracious and powerful actions. There was - and is - no one like him.
So what fills you with wonder? If it doesn't include God, you are not yet full. It needn't be something fantastic. Luther said, "If you could fully comprehend a single grain of wheat, you would die of wonder!"
Wishing you a wonder-filled new year!
Besides serving as pastor at Caledonia Congregational Church, Gary Schwerin is the Spiritual Development Minister for the YMCA of the Rock River Valley and Executive Director of Bridge Ministries of Rockford. Prior to launching Bridge Ministries, Gary spent many years in leadership with Young Life. His columns appear here every Sunday - to see them all, subscribe to our daily email.
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