I have started my devotional series through Biblical Lifestyle Center, and it began with a challenge that I am not quite sure I know what to think about it. The call is to examine what has separated me from the wonder and awe of being in the presence of the Almighty.
You were full of awe
and awash with wonder.
You were constantly
amazed, astonished, and overwhelmed...
Alas, that was before your mind
reduced your relationship
with the Creator to a creed.
That was before you substituted
doctrines for His Voice
and programs for His Presence.
That was before your religion reduced
His vast reservoir of life and truth
to a series of one-liners and clichés.
The reason I say it is difficult to consider is that I am not entirely sure that I ever had that "sense of awe and wonder" in the first place. Full disclosure: I am not necessarily what I would consider an emotional person. I'm not using the term in a negative way. I'm just making an observation that some people are naturally emotive... and I am not one of those people.
Do I marvel at Creation and the handiwork of God? Sure I do. I just do not name my response "awe". So I am wondering if that is a good thing or a bad thing or not a thing at all... just the way I am made. (Which, by the way, is "fearfully and wonderfully", in case you were wondering.) But, as an exercise in re-capturing a sense of amazement, I bothered a couple of bumblebees this morning as they were visiting my salvia plants and doing their thing pollinating and getting a morning snack. Bumblebees do fascinate me, and for all the reasons you imagine.
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| Not my photo, and not salvia - I just have a crummy little Exilim which takes pretty grainy photos |
As such, I think awe and wonder are a likely pair to team up with as I ponder the amazing grace that was extended to me when I repented and was shown forgiveness. Repentance is a word that is not easily understood in our culture. It means admitting you are wrong. (I always imagine The Fonz from Happy Days tripping over saying "wr-wr-wr-wrong.") We don't seem to be comfortable with that level of introspection that can lead to the realization that we have made a wrong move. We are even less comfortable with the concept of turning from it and going in the opposite direction. But that is only HALF of what it means to repent.
The Hebrew word that we translate as "repent," teshuvah means turning and returning. In turning from our wrong choices, we also need to make sure we are returning to the life YHVH has called us to, as His set apart people. And that involves spending time getting into the Instructions He has given us that map out what that looks like. It involves taking a look at how Jesus/Yeshua lived His life and taught His followers to live. Not by all the added traditions of the rabbis or pastors or denominations, but by the guidelines handed down to us through the Word of God. What are the principles behind the instructions He gave us, and how does that look 4,000+ years later in our day of technology and instant everything? It takes some thought, and it takes some time. And for me, it takes staying off of Facebook and the myriad of other distractions that seem harmless - until you add up the time sucked out of your life and time that would be better spent in introspection of the things that really matter in life.
For me, I am even more convinced that turning and returning can only be for my benefit. And that thought does strike me with awe and wonder. That my Creator and Redeemer has thought of me and desires for me blessings and not curses.
See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, when you obey the commands of יהוה your Elohim which I command you today; and the curse, if you do not obey the commands of יהוה your Elohim, but turn aside from the way which I command you today... Deuteronomy 11:26-28
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| Thank you, Christine Miller, for sharing your creative gifts with us. |
Amein
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