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As we explore the idea of Discerning Wonder, it would be a huge oversight not to talk about the wonder of children. In the very first article on this website we talked about the meaning of the word wonder.
WONDER - a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable. No one express this true feeling of surprise and admiration better than a young child. Young children seem to naturally live in world filled with wonder. Everything is new and amazing and remarkable to them. They get excited about the little things we have learned to take for granted. When we are talking about Wonder, we would definitely be better off if we recaptured some of that child-like amazement about the things around us. In the middle of frustrating traffic, if I would take a deep breath and wonder about the ability that we have to drive down the road, even if it’s at a crawl, I would be a little better. Wonder doesn’t change our situation, but reminds us of the beauty and blessings around us. Just like we can so easily lose our wonder in day-to-day life as we get older, we can lose our wonder in our spiritual lives as well. We can begin to take for granted how amazing God is and how wonderful His works are. This is yet another area where we would be wise to recapture the wonder of children. We are not alone in needing to learn this lesson. Matthew, Mark and Luke all tell about the disciples seeing Jesus shining like the sun and talking with Moses and Elijah and then hearing the voice of God. To say that the disciples encountered something “beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable” would be an understatement. Each of the three accounts says that they were “terrified”. You would think that with this amazing and powerful experience, the disciples would be reminded of the greatness of God and filled with wonder for days, but just like we often do, they quickly forgot and moved on to other things. Very quickly after each of these accounts, these three gospel writers tell us that the disciples had begun talking, or maybe even arguing, about which one of them was the greatest. Really? Didn’t they just see that God is the greatest? Oh how quickly we lose our wonder! Matthew 18:1-6 describes what happened next like this: “At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, ‘Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” So, just as they are arguing over which of them is the greatest, Jesus tells them that they need to become like children by humbling themselves. Child-like wonder begins with humility. Everything is new to young children. They are constantly learning and don’t think they’ve already got it all figured out. They are easily impressed and excited by the things they see and experience. We need more humility. We need to remember that we don’t have it all figured out. We’re not God and we don’t need to pretend like we are. We need to keep learning. We need to stop and actually take in what God is doing and has done all around us. When we do that, then we will be impressed and excited and filled with wonder like little children. Humility leads to wonder and wonder leads to gratitude and worship. While these words are easy to say and grasp, they aren’t always easy to remember or put into practice. Once again we see that we are in good company because in Mark 10:13-16 just a short time after this conversation about having humility and being like and receiving children in Jesus’s name this happened: “And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, ‘Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.’ And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.” The words “He was indignant” always make me smile a little. He had just had this conversation with them and they clearly didn’t get it. Of course He was indignant. As amusing as I find those words, the ones that catch my attention even more are these: “for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these…whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” It makes me ask myself, “Am I humbling myself and coming to Him with child-like wonder to receive the Kingdom He is offering?” 1 John 3:1 reminds us not only of God’s great love for us, but that we are His children: “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God, and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.” Let’s live (and wonder) like His children today!
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This is last of our Thursday series on the encounters with the Risen Savior that are shared in the four gospels. Today’s encounter is the last one that the disciples shared with Jesus on the earth. It is when they saw him ascend to heaven. This encounter is shared with us by Luke. It starts in his gospel and is continued in the book of Acts. Luke ends his gospel in chapter 24 verses 50-52 saying: And He led them out as far Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising God. While this encounter is very different that the other encounters with the Risen Savior that we have taken a look at in recent weeks, one similarity strikes me: worship. Consistently throughout each of these encounters we have seen that the response to seeing Jesus is to worship. We must never lose sight of that principle. When we really see Jesus for who He is, worship, and praising Him, should be our natural response. When Luke began the book of Acts, he started with a bit of an introduction shedding a little more light on this final encounter before the ascension. In Acts chapter 1, verses 1-11, it says: The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, ‘Which,’ He said, ‘you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’ So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, ‘Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.’ And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. The also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.’ Okay, I’ve just got to say it. The question of the two men in white clothing always makes me laugh a little. “Why do you stand looking into the sky?” Ummm…they just saw Jesus “lifted up” and “received” by cloud. That’s not a sight you see everyday, or EVER. I’m pretty sure I’d be doing exactly what the disciples were doing: staring into the sky to see what’s going to happen next. They’d seen Jesus heal people. They’d seen Him resurrect people. They’d seen Him die and rise again. They’d been seeing Him, the Risen Savior, off and on for 40 days at this point. They might have thought that nothing could surprise them anymore, but then He ascends to Heaven. Again, I’m pretty sure if I were them I’d definitely be wondering “Now what? What’s He going to do now?” But they were essentially told to stop staring in the sky because He’d be back. Fortunately for them, and us, He’d already answered the “now what” question before it ever even crossed their minds. The “now what” was given to them in the encounter on the mountain in Galilee when Jesus gave them the Great Commission. He even reinforced those instructions in His parting words to the disciples when he said: “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will received power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” And like the Great Commission, these instructions weren’t just for those disciples standing there that day. They are for each of us who call ourselves followers or disciples of Jesus. We are called to be His witnesses throughout the earth through the power of the Holy Spirit. So when you find yourself taken by surprise, in a good way or from a loss or unexpected situation, and you’re asking “Now what?” remember that He answered before we even asked. “Now what” starts with worship and continues with following His instructions to be a witness for Him and make disciples. This is week seven in our series on what Scripture teaches us about the value of wonder in our lives and ministries. Today’s Scripture passage is Hebrews 12:28 (NIRV) We are receiving a kingdom that can’t be shaken. So let us be thankful. Then we can worship God in a way that pleases him. Let us worship him with deep respect and wonder. During this series we’ve talked about the importance of wondering at the things that God has done and the things that He is doing around us each day, but this verse points us both to what He did for us through Jesus and what He is going to do. “We are receiving a kingdom that can’t be shaken.” As believers, we are receiving this kingdom because of what Jesus did for us in His life, death, and resurrection. His sacrifice restored our relationship with God. It reconciled us to Him. It is because of that that we are receiving this unshakable kingdom. Not only does this point to what Jesus did and is doing for us, but it also points toward the day that He will return again and establish His new Kingdom restoring all things. When this verse says, “So let us be thankful” there is so much for us to be thankful for. We should be thankful for our salvation, thankful for our relationship with God, thankful for being adopted into an unshakeable kingdom, and thankful that one day all things will be made right. That thankfulness should bring about worship that is fueled by both “deep respect and wonder.” We’ve talked before about the importance of letting wonder lead us to worship. True wonder along with deep respect and appreciation for what God has done is best expressed through worshiping Him. All of this comes from a place of gratitude. Gratitude has become a bit of a buzz word in our world today. We see signs and home decor reminding us to be grateful. Scientists have told us that gratitude improves our physical health by helping to lower stress. They’ve also shared the ways that it can improve mental health and relationships. None of this is new though. Throughout the Bible, God reminds us time and time again to be thankful, just like we find in this verse. It’s hard to stay envious or discontent or discouraged when we are taking time to be thankful and grateful. So, what are you thankful for today? Start with what God has done and is doing for you and take time to thank Him for that and more. Allow that gratitude to spark wonder and respect for Him, and allow that wonder and respect to fuel your time of worship today. We are in the second day of our series of Holy Week devotionals. Yesterday we talked about Palm Sunday. The Holy Week happening that we’re taking a look at today may have happened on Sunday after the Triumphal Entry or on that next day. Matthew and Luke give the impression that this happened right after Triumphal Entry. Mark states that they went back to Bethany for the night first, and John has this account or another very similar one near beginning of his book in chapter 2. Let’s take a look at the account in Mark 11:15-18: Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. And He began to teach and say to them, ‘Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a robbers’ den.’ The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching. Sometimes when we read this we might be tempted to think that this is an extreme reaction and find ourselves wondering why Jesus would do this. If we take time to understand what was really going on here, it might make a little more sense to us. Again, because they were getting ready for Passover the temple and surrounding areas were very busy places. God had instituted the Passover and temple sacrifices while the Israelites were still wandering in the desert. During Passover this great influx of people would all be looking to make their sacrifices. Over hundreds of years the Israelites had become more dispersed throughout Israel and neighboring areas and many had to travel for great distances to be in Jerusalem for the Passover. Possibly to help make it easier for travelers, the religious leaders had begun allowing people to sell animals for sacrifice in the temple. That also meant that people might have different currencies that would need to be exchanged so they set up areas for that as well. Sounds helpful and convenient right? First, should sacrifice be convenient? Second, even if this practice started as an idea to help, it certainly wasn’t at that point. As Jesus quoted from Isaiah 56:7, the temple was to be a house of prayer. Can you imagine being a Gentile who wanted to worship God during the Passover, and the only place you’re allowed to do that in the temple is also crowded with people buying and selling animals and trading money? That doesn’t sound like a very good atmosphere for prayer and focusing on God. On top of all that, this “helpful convenience” had become a big business. Someone could buy an animal for sacrifice at the temple, but obviously they’d need to pay the person for the animal. That sounds fair enough as long as the seller wasn’t taking advantage of the fact that the buyer didn’t really have any other options in order to make the sacrifice that was the purpose for their trip. Of course, the seller would have to have permission to be in the Temple selling the animals in the first place. The religious leaders would gladly give that permission for a large portion of the proceeds. Then there were the Romans. They were the rulers of the area. They had conquered by force and could set the laws including what religious practices were in place. They could say no Passover at all, but they graciously allowed it to happen as long as they also received a large portion of the proceeds from these sales. Sounds real helpful right? Not only was all of this buying and selling and money changing disrupting worship and violating the purpose of the temple, but it was taking advantage of people. It directly violated the heart of God, and it was being not just condoned but conducted by the religious leaders. Jesus turning over tables and driving them out doesn’t seem so extreme when we look at it that way does it? There’s a possibility that all of this was started by an idea to help people. We really don’t know, but if it started there it quickly moved from helping people to worship to taking advantage of people. We’ve all seen and maybe even experienced examples of how an idea or desire to help ultimately ended up leading down a path of damage and destruction. It’s an all too easy path for any of us to find ourselves headed down. As we prepare our hearts for worship, let’s take time to evaluate our hearts, our thoughts, our attitudes and actions. Are the things we do and say each day making it easier for us and for others to worship God or are we justifying things that are hurting or taking advantage of others? |
AuthorTracy Newcomb Archives
August 2026
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