Wonder of Worship

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Wonder attracts our attention to detail.

My youngest son and I made leaf tracings this week with red, yellow, and golden leaves. His wonder at the beauty of color made him concentrate on the shape of the leaves, their edges, their veins. 

Because he studied the details, he then could identify and name the trees the leaves came from.

Later that night, I stood studying the details of the northern lights. I took note of the big dipper, cassieopeia, polaris- identifying and naming them even as I snapped their photos behind the reds, greens, purples, and pinks.

My wonder at leaves and lights increased my wonder at everything October-ish that I saw. A murmuration of blackbirds. A dandelion in the grass. A kitten curled up in a bowl. Girls running in a cross-country race. A boy walking along a lonely stretch of road with his shotgun slung over his arm.

Because I stopped to study the details, I began to identify and name the God who inspires wonder.

I began to worship.

When we worship, we gaze wonderingly into the details of the face of Christ. We come to know Him in a new, more intimate way. We can better identify and name Him and His work in our lives. We understand more of what He meant in His Word. 

When King Hezekiah sent letters to all of Israel and Judah, he invited them to come to Jerusalem to take part in worship like this. “Return to the Lord,” he told the people and invited them to come participate in the Passover worship celebration.

Some of the people did. They wondered at the faithfulness of God. They studied the details of His character and face. They could identify Him and name Him.

And when they left Jerusalem, they broke into pieces any idols they saw. They gave a tithe of everything they had. They reestablished a societal order that had been crumbling for generations.

When we gaze intently at the details of the face of Christ in worship, the face of an idol becomes an imposter! We are no longer satisfied with rich foods, mindless scrolling, or meaningless entertainment. There is no wonder there.

We no longer hold tightly to possessions, wealth, or control as our own because it has become obvious, in the details of Jesus, that it is all His. 

We are no longer satisfied with societal disorder and decay but instead, actively work to bring about the order and unity that God’s presence and protection offer to a society.

Wonder becomes worship. Worship identifies the one, true God. Everything else fades away.

Keith and Kristyn Getty wrote a song several years ago called, “Don’t let me lose my wonder.” In that song, they sing, “I found my home in the light where wrong was made right as You rose as the Morning Star. Don’t let me lose my wonder.” 

Amen.