Who Lives In Us and Through us, and Fills us with Wonder

WONDER FILLED

We have been created with a complexity and creativity that makes us wonder about the creator. We too, have the ability to create wonderful things, some of which make people wonder about us. We have this line in our creed because we want to affirm that we are both wonderful and wonder filled.

ON BEING WONDERFUL

Babies are amazing right? They smell great, at least some of the time, and when they smile at you, it’s over. If it is your own baby, well you just think they are the most amazing kid in the world. Next time you see someone with a baby, you don’t even have to know them, say, “Wow, your baby is adorable.” Then sit back and watch them beam. Someone once asked me, “What was your favorite age with your kids?” Honestly I would have to say, “All of them.” With raising kids there is always something wonderful going on.

On BEING HUMAN

The church has not always known how to answer the question of, “Why did Jesus have to die?” One of the popular answers has been, “To save us poor miserable sinners.” The starting point for much of Christian Theology has been that we are human and by human they mean, deeply flawed. This sets up a need for a savior who can save us from being, well, us. I did not question this doctrine until I came to Spirit of Peace and heard myself saying it. I set out to preach something like, “When God looks down at us, because of Jesus’s death on the cross, He doesn’t see our sin, He sees Jesus.” Instead what came out was, God sees and knows everything about us and delights in us. I almost couldn’t believe what I was saying. I am not saying that God delights in all of our actions and some of the things human beings do to each other is truly evil. Often, those things come out of our fear or pain or insecurity. God of course understands that. We also do some amazing, wonderful things. God can see past our failures and see deep inside to the person God created. God calls us to see that in each other too.

ON BEING WONDER FILLED

One of the amazing things that God has put into us is our desire to know how things work. We wonder about all kinds of things, and set out to figure them out. Ever wondered why toddlers put everything in their mouths. They are trying to figure things out. Have you ever taken something apart just to see how it works? I once took apart a baseball. I unstitched the leather cover and unraveled miles of string until I got to the center which was a piece of cork. We also wonder about big things like what happens when you die. God has given us a brain that is wired to figure stuff out. Have you ever read a mystery novel and finally arrived at the last chapter and said to yourself. “I don’t think I will read the last chapter, it’s not that important.” Curiosity to the mysteries of life is what causes us to search for answers.

ON QUESTIONING GOD

I meet people all the time who tell me that they were told not to question God. “That’s what faith is.” they might say. I believe that real faith is more about asking good questions and having all the answers.