Playing in the rain. Watching a caterpillar. Picking the first flowers/weeds of the season as a present for our mom. When we were kids, the simplest things excited us and filled us with a sense of wonder. (I'm sure you moms out there are experiencing this again as you watch your little ones discover everything with new eyes.) At what age do we stop being "wow-ed" by things? When do we become so cynical?
The same questions apply to our spiritual lives. At what point do we lose the wonder of who God is, what he did for us, and the simple, but complex (and amazing) fact that he loves us and above all else desires a relationship with us?
In The Christ of Easter, a devotional for the Easter season, author Calvin Miller makes the following observation:
"Theologians are rarely cheerleaders. They so often wear themselves out with heavy ideas that they lose the art of joy...They are full of answers, but all too often void of praise."
"But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonders He did and all the children shouting in the temple area, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant.
'Do you hear what these children are saying?' 'Yes,' Jesus replied, 'have you never read, "From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise?"'" Matthew 21:15-16
The "religious" people knew the prophecies concerning the coming Messiah. They witnessed the miracles Jesus performed. Yet, in their quest to be "proper," and "religious" they completely missed the point. But...the kids got it! No, they were not theologians. They probably could not quote the Torah or debate the finer points of the law, but they knew one thing. "Jesus is coming! He loves kids!" The religious people were mad and took their complaint up with Jesus. Not finding an "acceptable" response there, they had no choice, but to return to their books and search for truth and meaning - not realizing that Truth was literally staring them in the face. The children, however, continued their song of praise. To quote Miller again:
"Children always sing better than theologians, and songs hang in the air longer than theology...Praise is better medicine than mere insight."
I want to be like those children. Not distracted by all the "stuff" of my faith, but simply awed by the wonder of it all. So, I am about to spend a few minutes meditating on the words of Psalm 8. Go get your bible. Read it for yourself and cultivate the "art of joy." Learn to prasie God for who He is. Become lost in the excitement that the Creator of the universe loves us!!
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3 comments:
I LOVE looking at the world through Jack's eyes!! I'm going to read Ps. 8 in my quiet time tonight. Thanks for the suggestion. I needed to meditate on the wonder of it all today:)
Karen, as if you did not know this, you are so my soul sister! I feel that God always just tells you exactly what I need to hear! My spirit has been heavy and I've been beating myself up for all of things I feel like I don't do. This past weekend I just felt like God was telling me that He just wanted me to spend some time in His presence and just give Him the attention He deserves. He is so worthy! And I still stand in wonder! Thank you for this post!
I agree! So many times I've become callused and cynical to things, that it takes Aly's joy and wonder to make me blink open my eyes for what it truly is. Wonderful reflective reasoning :).
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