The Wonder Of It All

Matthew 22:29 says, "Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God."

This is a picture of the Greater Grace International School staff from our annual International Day. For me this picture is such a blessing in itself. Not just because of the

memories, but because it leaves me in wonder. I am amazed at how God is using us to impact student's lives. I am amazed at how God is giving us patience and enlarging our capacities. And I am amazed at how a handful of people can reach countries with His name.

Obviously you can see in the title that we are speaking about wonder. This also includes

amazement, awe, or any other word you wa

nt to use in its' place. Wonder is such an incredible gift and an interesting tool in our life with Christ. In contrast to wonder we have mystery. Both of these provide us with a level of excitement and interest, but only one of them has a positive influence on our soul.

With mystery we find too often that there is a type of secrecy that eats away at our spirit. I want to contrast this with mistakes in our past. Mistakes in our past are not secrets. They are things we don't bring up our speak about because they are

not edifying and they bring back memories of sin that were buried and paid for. With mystery though, there are secrets - things that may have happened in the past, but because of not being brought to the Cross and dealt with, are eating away at our

soul. Yes, there is excitement in mystery, but there is also fear. Maybe a fear of what will happen when I lose the excitement. Maybe a fear of the mystery being brou

ght to the light and I am exposed. Either way, mystery is a result of the fall. We see Adam and Eve being very mysterious; attempting to hide from God because of their sin. We see mysterious people everyday; people living in wounds, outside of a covering, or even those looking for recognition through pride. All in all, I don't see many good examples of mystery/mysterious people in the Bible.

Now to wonder. I realize that it is a very ambiguous word and that we could probably use some definition. I will assume that there may be some people who

read this blog who are not Christians so I will try my best to explain. Imagine the feeling when you hear someone say something, maybe an idea or a problem they dealt with, and it hits you. You don't know what hits you, but it does. I'm in church and the pastor is preaching and he says something. I look around expecting to see everyone looking at me. They have to be because after all what he just said applies to my life directly. Nobody is looking at me. This is wonder. A supernatural God speaks through a man to a natural human, me. The words speak to me, they can cut and heal, it's God speaking to me. In Psalms 8:4 the psalmist writes, "What is man that though are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?" That is wonder. That is the question I ask God and that is the question he loves to answer. I think about when people ask me about the school. I get a smile, then I just start talking, about the kids, the ideas for the future. I could continue for days. I love talking about what God has written on my heart because I live with that on my heart eve

ryday; just as God lives with the answer to our questions, the solutions to our problems, and our daily bread, everyday.

Look at the faces of these kids. You may never meet them. You may never get to know them, their favorite color or how much they like going to our school, but God does. It's so incredible to

me to think this way. I go to the store and I see things advertised as "hand-picked," or "special selection," or anything like that; they cost more. These children are the same. My call is the same. The lost are the same. Hand-picked of God's special vineyard. He knows them, He loves them, He provides for them daily, He has placed them (for a season) in His school here. Everyone has a story. Stories don't move me as much now as they used to when I was younger. You know what does, wonder! I hear a story and I am in wonder at how God provides, about how much He loves, at how He speaks to us.

Maybe you like being a mysterious person. Maybe you like all your secrets. Maybe you think it makes you a more interesting person. I don't know, but what I do know is, I am in wonder at what He is doing. He shines the light in my life and the mystery is gone and I am in wonder at how much He loves me, at how little I want or need mystery in my life. I need the Scriptures and the power of God. Those keep me in wonder!