Saturday, 26 May 2012
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Rediscovering Wonderland: In Awe of God's Creation
I believe that when we are born, we have as it were a sense of nothing. Absolutely everything we do is new to our internal and external senses. Every plant we touch is a new and wonderful sensation. Every sunrise, and every sunset stroke us with awe like a bucket of ice cold water poured over head on a hot and humid day. The rain was thought to be tears of God and the sky after it rained was as if the Lord had kissed the earth with refreshing love and purity.Animals were not common place; they were fascinating and evoked a sense of reverence and wonder that sent the youthful imagination souring into a blissful overload of contemplations and ponderings. Birds were marvels and distinguished from all the rest, merely for naturally being born with the ability that one could only dream of, to fly. The vastness of an ocean, the sweet melody of the tide crashing the shore, and the sweet smell of salt water erected in youth, silence and ponderings. The taste of bread, of sugar, and of honey for the first few times in life, they tasted so amazing, and so potently delightful that words still have no place in the experience.
In a window of an airport, as a plane slowly made its way from the passenger dock to the run way, I watched as this amazingly huge object, this bird like concoction began to slowly straighten itself heading towards the run way. Not almost, but feeling it to be completely surreal, watching as this plane, which was carrying hundreds of people, gains speed on the ground -- that is breath taking. Going around corners, and gradually picking up speed until the final stretch. Like a clap of thunder from above, the planes velocity reached its goal on ground. With childlike wonder I remember watching that plane roar and skillfully left off the ground and head straight for the clouds like I had only dreamed; and in that moment as a youth, I remember having goose bumps; Not only because the sight was new to me, but because it simply was astonishing, and to this day, it still is.
I remember visiting sea-world years ago, as a 15 year-old boy, and I remember walking down several flights of stairs almost in darkness. As I descended the room began to glow in the color of blue from the fish tank that now lay bare before me. Its glass was two feet thick, and it was half the size of a football stadium; and inside lived a baby by the name of JJ. I walked to the glass of this huge tank, and placed my hands on the glass and a figure appeared swimming closer from afar. He was 3/4 the size of a football field, he weighed in at about 4 tons. He came right to my hand and he filled up the glass view with himself, he was a grey whale, he was only 9 months old. (Our Jesus is Big, people.)
John 1:3: "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." (NIV)
Colossians 1:16: "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him."
Oh' the beauty of life, how precious and how marvelous is this thing called life.
It's so morbidly sad, that as we grow older and as the ages march ahead closer and closer to old age, that we lose the sense of wonder for God's creation that we possessed as children. Life grows shallow, and becomes almost inevitably boring. The song of the bird’s no longer call to our imagination; their song no longer grabs our attention in a positive way. The gentle blowing of the wind, receives no longer from us an embrace of affection, but a disgruntled verbal rebuke as we seek shelter from the element of God's creation that we once danced, and allowed our either store bought or homemade concoction fly high in its arms while we held the string.
Nehemiah 9:6: Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are the rein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.
Why do we need to experience wonder again? Because the wonders of the creation, leads us to a deeper and more profound worship of the creator; life isn't normal brothers and sisters, it is indeed super naturally abnormal. When we can drink in who God is through the small things in life (that in reality aren't so small and aren't so trivial), we get to see a picture of the unseen majestic, creative, and powerful God.
How do we regain this treasure, how do we rejoice in a sunrise again, and in a sunset again like we use to in our youth? How do we again savor the foods we eat as if we had previously never tasted them to the glory of God? How are we brought to tears again staring over the endlessness of the ocean? How do we love one another simply out of the joy of being alive, and enjoying each other like a spoon of honey every day? How do we get goose bumps again when a plane takes to the sky, or when a mother gives birth? How will we again see flowers and grass as if they were our kingdoms of visual splendor? By asking the King of Majesty, of glory, the God of wonders to again, open our eye's to the beauty of what He has made.
Psalms 8:3-9 (King David, expressed his awe towards the Lord like this):
"When I look at the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you established—what is man that you take notice of him, or the son of man that you pay attention to him? You made him a little less than divine, but you crowned him with glory and honor. You gave him dominion over the work of your hands, you put all things under his feet: Sheep and cattle—all of them, wild creatures of the field, birds in the sky, fish in the sea—whatever moves through the currents of the oceans. LORD, our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth!"
Have you experienced the wonder and awe of life today? When is the last time that you were moved by one of God's many creations? If you haven't, what are some ways that you would like God to help you in regaining wonder in this life?
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- From: calimorrison@xanga
- Name: Cali
- Location: Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States
- About Me: I'm a senior at WCU in hattiesburg MS, Majoring in History and minoring in english. I enjoy reading and working out. I'm looking for accountability, please add me, I accept all invites.
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Comments (20)
Beautiful reflection! Yes, God in Christ made all of this for His glory and enjoyment as well as a delight for those of us able to see the immense totality of the universe.
I am blessed to be able to live in an almost Edenic surroundings and enjoy so much His creation: the various birds, insects and other animals. Trees and wildflowers never fail to capture my attention.
Though my age has begun to limit my abilities, I thank God for the wonder of His creation; but most of all I thank Him for His love in choosing me and making me not only His original creation but His new creation in Christ Jesus!
@quest4god - Amen, what a wonderful reflection! I praise God for your life, and for your faith. God bless you indeed!!!
Every day I take time to appreciate the glory of God and His creation.
Very beautiful and heartfelt post. You are right, we get so bored with life, we get too caught up in the trials and torments that we forget to be mindful of all His majesty and Glory. He is everywhere, all around us. No matter how lonely we may be, All we have to do is look, He is right here with us always. All His creation serves to remind us that He indeed will never leave nor forsake us. If you ever feel that burning question, "Where is God?", just take a look. He hasn't gone anywhere!
Heartfelt yes, but painful. Painful in the way my neighbor treats his horse. Painful in the way another neighbor leaves his dogs out in sub zero degree weather, and rarely speaks to them. People around here call me a bleeding heart, because I feel the pain of creatures that I assume God would have us treat decently, and care for at least minimally. I've often noticed people who grew up without animals in their house holds have little or no empathy towards them. I determined I would not do that with my children, and I didn't. We have a grand daughter with animal allergies, so they have a fish, and they teach the wonders of creation to her. I am so very thankful for all I've been given, and for all I'm able to enjoy on a daily basis.
I'm truly sorry for the pain this may have caused you polly, indeed this post was intended to summon up the very opposite of emotions. I pray that your sorrow turns into joy through our Lord Jesus, He is the only real source and eternal source of joy. Woundedwanderer and quest4God I'm blessed that other members of Gods family desire to regain wonder as well. I'm not sure where I lost my sense of wonder, maybe it was the reality of life, or maybe the generic approach to life that we all somewhat become accustomed to in seeking to fulfill our materalistic bent, feeding our ego's, rather than realizing that life is strangly and abnormally new and exciting. I want to hear more from all of you, your a blessing to me. (Please and me as a friend)
@calimorrison@xanga - I really enjoyed reading this. Thank you
@WoundedWanderer@xanga - I am looking but I have yet to see anything resembling a "god". Except images drawn from the from the imaginations of people who believe in magic and angels and devils and demons and Christs face in their Cheese Sandwich. LOL
If I read the mission statement of this particular website correctly, I believe that it indeed stated that although, different beliefs were welcomed, this site is fundamentally one that is christian. That said, if in fact to you religion would seem empty and void, an institution merely to be mocked, why is it that of all the many websites online (where you could be potently not wasting your time) did you choose this one, a chrisitian one? There are underlying deformed/insecure psychological issues with individuals who do this. That goes for christians and any other group in any other religion as well who would set themselves to mock other religions, or the lack there of. (Cheese sandwiches are goood)
@Captric, one of the points this post is trying to make is that the work of God is so obvious around us. He has revealed Himself in His Word and throughout creation, so that you are without excuse for not believing (Romans 1, particularly verse 20). I'll pray for you, but calimorrison makes a great point - this site is not for debating Christianity. It's about reflecting on God and the Christian life. Go elsewhere for dispute.
@Captric@xanga - Oh He's here, EVERYWHERE. He made all this world and He is so easy to find if you WANT to see Him, but I'm sad to say that those who refuse to see the existence of God, will never find Him, in nature, or anywhere else. Life on this earth and all eternity will be void of any meaning or peace. To those who are willing to see Him, he's not at all hard to find. Put your hand on your chest and feel your heartbeat. That didn't just happen, it wasn't a mistake or a strange coincidence. But face it, how many times have you ever put your hand there and ever thought about the wonder and importance of your heart? Probably not very many times. We take our heart for granted until it STOPS beating or we feel something abnormal going on in there. Only then does it get our attention. If you take God for granted that way, you won't find Him. You probably won't even seriously look for Him, until it's too late. It's time to stop and take a good look around you, at all the wonders He's made, count your blessings instead of your troubles, and you won't only find God, you'll discover He's been there all the time. You were just too blind to notice. At some point, we've all been guilty of that. I don't ever want to be guilty of it again.
@WoundedWanderer@xanga - The discussion of Gods is a never ending source of amusement for me. If God is so self evident as you say, than why doesn't he just reveal himself in a way that would be so obvious to anyone who doubts his existence? Growing the limbs back on an amputee as a result of prayer would certainly suffice! It has been said that Jesus healed the blind with spittle.....that would be sufficient as well. Of course those of us who do boubt these stories rest assured that the stories were plagiarized from ancient pagan religions with stories of a man/god healing the blind with spittle, raising dead girls from the grave and turning water in to wine CENTURIES before Jesus was born.
I am a confirmed Lutheran but I became wise to the ways of Christians and other religions. I even went to a Lutheran school where a man, certainly closer to God than I since he fancied himself a Pastor, tried to literally BEAT math in to my head through the use of violence with a wooden handled janitors brush on my bare naked 8 yr old behind to the point of bruising. But peace I certainly have and God hs nothing to do with it. Hard work and science and technology have EVERYTHING to do with my peace and comfort and yours as well as everyone else in the world. In fact the people who are most believing in the world - African Christians - live the most miserable lives of anyone I have ever met. Why doesn't god answer their prayers.The world you see is the same world I see - it looks no different whether you believe in a god or not. In fact - if it were not for the prescription lenses - brought to you through the only real miracles around - SCIENCE - the world would look very blurry to you.@Captric@xanga - and that is why you will never see God. You don't WANT to. Science will never give you prescription lenses that are strong enough to make you see through your ignorance. The evidence of God is all around and can only be denied by someone who WANTS to deny it and REFUSES to see the truth that is so clear and evident, even to a blind man. Why, why why why, seeking the answer to all those why's is exactly the reason we need this great big wonderful God who has made His existence known right in front of our eyes. If we had the answers, and we don't, not does your precious "science", then we wouldn't need God. What purpose would He have in our lives? He created us, He doesn't have to answer our questions, He doesn't have to show Himself to us in the ways WE want Him to. He has given us enough, if we are not too bullheaded and ignorant to see. And those who are, well, I guess they will just fall eternally to their own devices. If you can't see God in all of His creation that has been right in front of your face your whole life, then you wouldn't see Him if he perfomed great feats of spontaneous razzle and dazzle either. You'd find some way to explain it all away, because you don't WANT the truth. There is nothing God could ever do to "suffice" the mind of an ignorant soul that is hellbent not to believe in Him. He has given you a choice, a right to seek Him or to deny Him altogether. You will reap accordingly to the choice you make. It's all in black and white. You don't have to believe it now, but you can't change His existence, or the facts pertaining to the consequences or rewards of YOUR choice. Even God can't open the eyes of a man who chooses to be be blind.
Matthew 16:4: "A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah." Jesus then left them and went away."
Christ is saying the samething to those who seek a sign or evidence today. Your not amused, your miserable. Amazing that you have known something of our ranks (Except the demonic practices of godless men that abused you, Im sorry for that), something of the material by which we JOYFULLY govern our lives by, but yet you are unfamilar with the biblical concept that God chooses who He reveals himself to. As my friend wanderer has stated, you WILL not see because your not open to it, it doesn't matter if you were at one time trying to see the point is that you remain blind. Thus making this conversation painfully trivial and completely void of meaning. 1 corinthians 2:14: "The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit."
There is a severe difference between curiousity on a subject, and insidious inquiry. God owes humanity absolutely nothing, man isn't entitled even to his next breath; and again though you, being exposed to scripture, you still seem to over look the fact that God isn't into the prosperty gospel business. He loves my people (Africans and blacks and all people) regardless of what happens on this earth. Your arguement is impotent, castrated by scripture!
John 10:25-29:"Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me,but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand." (If there are any further questions of mockery, or any lingering discombobulation, I believe this scripture is explaining why)
@WoundedWanderer@xanga - Really?? I am the ignorant one? That is typically Christian of you.....
You sir proclaim your truth in metaphors and your feelings. I proclaim the truth in verifable and repeatable FACTS!
Get an education and you might start with your own religion which you seem to know nothing about.
Your Christian god is evil by anybodies standards except possibly Islamic extremists! And I quote from your own Christian bible"
"Anyone arrogant enough to reject the verdict of the judge or of the priest who represents the LORD your God must be put to death. Such evil must be purged from Israel." (Deuteronomy 17:12 NLT)
"If a man lies with a male as with a women, both of them shall be put to death for their abominable deed; they have forfeited their lives." (Leviticus 20:13 NAB)
"If one curses his father or mother, his lamp will go out at the coming of darkness.
(Proverbs 20:20 NAB)
A priest's daughter who loses her honor by committing fornication and thereby dishonors her father also, shall be burned to death. (Leviticus 21:9 NAB
Whoever sacrifices to any god, except the Lord alone, shall be doomed. (Exodus 22:19 NAB)
They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul; and everyone who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. (2 Chronicles 15:12-13 NAB)
"All who curse their father or mother must be put to death. They are guilty of a capital offense." (Leviticus 20:9 NLT)
"If a man commits adultery with another man's wife, both the man and the woman must be put to death. " (Leviticus 20:10 NLT)
Etc Etc Etc!
Anyone who believes this drivel is seriously mentally ill --- but then on a daily basis we see the results of good christians calling for the confinement of homosexuals inside an electric fenced compound and air dropping food to them. Or your good priests raping little boys and then getting hidden by the Vatican and the list goes on and on and on --- all in the name of your imaginary spirit. LOL
@Captric@xanga - First of all, I am Christian, I am NOT catholic. I do not have a priest. You are on the wrong thread. I refuse to buy into your ignorance, and yes you are the one who is ignorant. That is FACT, and in time it will be revealed to you, but it will be too late if you do not repent of your ignorance. You have the right to call it drivel if you wish, but I do not just speak from feelings. I have SEEN His works, I have heard His voice, I have felt His touch. I have seen mighty things God has done. These things are given to those who believe. To see God in His fullness, you must first BELIEVE that He is God. Until you believe with a sincere heart, you will see NOTHING. You will remain in your blindness, and no sir, you do not have any FACTS. You have mere falicy, but your faith is in that ignorance, thus you accept ignorance as fact, but it is not. I pray that you see the light of truth that will set you free. You are the one who is miserable and unfulfilled. I am content and at peace, for i have been set free by the truth, and my hope is in Christ. I will not entertain any more of your ignorance and misrepresentation of scriptures you have twisted to try and justify your own agenda. There is no way in hell you will ever convince me that my God is not real. I have seen too much, and experienced too much of His wonderful presence to ever be so blind. I have prayed and seen a dieing baby healed instantaneously, I watched as my father was dieing and there was no hope given, and seen God heal his body and raise him up. I have seen tonadoes where everything was destroyed all around except for a closet where a Christian inside was praying for God's protection. The list goes on and on and on. Nope, not gonna happen Mr. Blind, you go right on denying Him all you wish, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord! I have been in a hostage situation and shot at twice by a young man who was a marksman, and both bullets somehow mysteriously missed me to the amazement of the young gunman who was puzzled by what he seen and released his hostages. I have watched lives transformed and there is NOTHING you can possibly say that would refute the many miracles I've witnessed. Your science cannot explain it away, your denial cannot change it, You haven't the slightest clue what you are missing by refusing to believe in the one who created all. You refuse to see the obvious that is right in front of your nose, yet you seem to have no problem believing that all that is just somehow, mysteriously came into existence by accident or coincidence out of absolutely nothing. And you call Christianity a far fetched idea? There are no facts of any kind to support such nonsense. Good day and GOODBYE!
@WoundedWanderer@xanga - whatever your medication is I recommend you double it. I will believe a Christian the moment you send me irrefutable evidence of a miracle that cannot be explained in a rational manner. The only thing even close to miracles on this planet come from Science and Engineering. Everything else is nothing more than your IMAGINATION. And in addition --- I have WARPED nothing nor taken scripture out of context. How DARE you doubt your own Christian gods words!!
@Captric@xanga - You seem in pain, and I'm sorry for that. I am no longer a Christian, either, and sometimes I find that difficult. If you feel like talking about it, let me know.
@lanney@xanga - Thanks for the kind thoughts ---- I am just fine --- I just have a low tolerance for poeple who try hard to contribute to the ignorance of children and if they have their way - turn us in to the American equivelent of a backwards middle eastern country where you are marginilized as a human being if you do not believe in magic and ghosts.