Amazed!

What an incredible word. Amazed! Can you just imagine what this brings to mind when we ponder on its meaning? I know that this may seem somewhat chaotic in its beginning, but I will try to make sense of this.

Lately, I have been captivated with the idea of amazement. I have two small children who get amazed frequently. I enjoy it so much that I actually try to find more things to bring about this emotion in them. Jacob, when looking at balloons, actually uses the words, WOW! and he doesn't even talk yet. He will also say the sound OOOOOHHHH!!! He is amazed! My daughter Megan gets amazed by the simplest things also. Just the other day, we had to stop and allow a Fire Truck to pass. This truck was BIG! RED! LOUD! and AMAZING! She loved it so much that she was almost embarrassed to be so excited to see it. Other things cause different kinds of reaction to both of them. Sometimes it is pure silence.

Oh, to have a sense of wonderment and awe when experiencing life like these two children.


Well, I do!


I ponder on what God has done and is doing in my life. I am purely amazed. I can recall times where I have been driving, and suddenly I am amazed with the beauty of the new found place. I have watched television and become amazed. For example, I was amazed at the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Yet, I think about the song, "Amazing Grace" and I am saddened with the idea that I can become complacent with this grace from God. I have become a "Spiritual Grown-up." Yuck!

Many times I have to pause and think of what God has done, and then I am reminded of this Amazing Grace. Sometimes this emotion is expressed in a WOW! or even silence, but lately it has been in tears. Tears of both joy and sadness. The tears of joy for who God is and what He is doing. However, the tears of sadness are because I am amazed at the lack of love and unity in the so-called "church." I know that this may be an awkward transition, but I cannot stop thinking about the current church. It seems like we have to be "defined" by a denomination, label (conservative or liberal), or even generation (Modern or Post-modern). I am amazed that we get so caught up in these differences that we lose sight of our calling to be of One Lord and One Faith.

I also get so amazed at people's dependence on others for defining what they do or do not believe to be "right." I am currently taking an ethics class and I posed the question to the class, "What is right?" I went on to ask, "Whose 'right' is 'right' and whose 'right' is 'wrong'"? No one could give me an answer, mostly because I think everyone was scared to make a stance for something that they defined as right. I was amazed. Yet, this also happens in the "church." We decide on who is right and join with that group. However, I am not so certain that they are right. Does this make sense?

Have we completely perverted the God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob? Have we distorted the view of who Jesus is within the distorted man? Have we allowed our selfish desires make Jesus selfish? We wave the banner of inerrancy of Scripture, but we only use the "Parts" that are "relevant" to our generation.

The reason I bring this to light is because the main reason I am amazed by God's grace is because I am amazed at God's judgement. I am in AWE of Him. My tears of sadness are because I believe that we have lost sight of His goodness. Paul says, " . . . that it is God's kindness that leads us into repentance." At one point, I was somewhat confused by this statement, but now it makes sense. I am led to repentance because I realize what I deserve, and I am amazed by His willingness to extend grace to me through His Son's atonement on my behalf, just as he presented the Ram in the thicket for Abraham. He gives grace that is so amazing.

I would hope that others will join me in not being a "Spiritual Grown-up". Rather, I would hope that we can be as children - amazed!