shock 'n' awe
Ever since I was a little boy, I have had an artistic bent to me. It can be argued as to the quality of the work produced, but nonetheless, I was inclined to creativity. I would sit at my older sibling’s various sporting events or other such extracurricular activities all the while oblivious to the surroundings because I would be feverishly at work on some series of drawings or sometimes crafting my own illustrated book. My mother even recalls me sitting in front of the TV on Saturday afternoons fixated upon the workings of the painter named Bob Ross. You may recall this longtime PBS favorite with his white dude’s Afro and his desire to paint “happy little bushes.” Other kids are practicing their perfect spiral and I’m watching a guy paint “sprightly clouds over a lake.” (This explains a lot doesn’t it?!) But this interest in art carried through into High School and then into college where it was my major for some time. I’ve just always had an interest in art history. Why was this painted? Who sculpted that? What on earth is that supposed to mean... or be?! Who were these guys that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were named after? Anyway, inevitably, as you study art history enough, you come across some of the same masterpieces and artists time and time again.
My favorite painting is “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” by Georges Seurat. He was a French neo-impressionist painter in the late 19th century. I think I was drawn to him because he’s not your typical artist. He was distinctly scientific in his methods of producing artwork. He was a pioneer as he worked in a style broadly known as pointillism. Seurat spent two years meticulously painting tiny dots in layer after layer to obtain the coloring and effects that he so eagerly desired. Now, the amazing thing is that this painting measures 81"x120" in total. That is 6ft. 9in. by 10ft. Consisting entirely of tiny colored dots of oil paint. I studied this very painting in my text books for years. I could rattle of nearly every fact about it if necessary, but then one day I came face-to-face with this massive work on a trip to the Chicago Art Institute. But you know how you can know everything there is to know about something, but it doesn’t ever quite prepare you to encounter it? Here I am just feet away from this great work of art that I have so long admired. I could hardly move, but then I couldn’t stop moving. I got as close as I could, then moved back as far as I could. I looked at that painting from every angle I could. I was giddy. I was dumbfounded! I couldn’t believe it! Here in front of my eyes was one of the great masterworks of all-time. I could scarcely take it all in!
Have you ever experienced a moment like this? Well? Think about it. Have you? Have you ever seen something, met someone, done something that simply left you breathless? Sometimes when we are really wowed by something, it almost makes us feel like a kid again, right?
What is it that compels us to stand out in a warm spring rain when we know we ought to head inside for cover? Or maybe you’re one who relishes the opportunity to bask in the sun... or take a walk in the brisk autumn air to view the changing colors... or watch a flurry of fluffy flakes floating down from the winter sky. There are so many things can warm your heart and at the same time give you goose bumps. Much like I felt that day in the museum.
You see, each of us... we were hard-wired with a desire for the transcendent in our hearts. That is, we long for that which inspires and fills us with awe. It is in fact, quite important for us to experience awe within our lives. Now, before I go any further, I’m not saying that our lives are going to ever be spent in one awe-inspiring moment strung along to another on this side of glory, but nevertheless we must understand the role of wonder in our own life.
When we engage in the practice of esteeming God and allowing ourselves to be filled with awe by Him, we then are compelled to worship Him. The principle of cause and effect goes into play here. Have you ever had a toy, a tool, an appliance, or who knows what and you found yourself engrossed in the examination of it? Have you ever known the sort of person will take something apart and study it in such a way as to eventually be able to likely fix it and put it back together again? Take, for instance this pocket watch... As they dissect the project they explore its depths and admire the ingenuity of the inventor. Flannery O'Connor, and American author, wrote,
Jacob encountered God at Jabbok, he was awed by Him and then raised an altar there in worship. Moses was time and time again shown the signs and wonders of God and, in result, lived a life of worshipful devotion to him. David was consistently marveling at God’s being and his deeds, thus writing a great number of psalms and hymns of exaltation. Josiah, the boy-king of Israel, rediscovered the book of the Law of God, was struck in awe of it... it cut him to the heart, and thus renewed the covenant between God and his people. And it goes on and on... Those who encountered Jesus were frequently filled with awe. As it says in Luke 5:26, after Jesus healed a paralyzed man,
A term denoting awe that would be more commonly used in the Bible is reverence. Reverence is a proper sense of awe, respect and wonder that is inspired and, in truth, demanded by an encounter with the character and activity of God.
Reverence unto God is necessary for continued spiritual growth. Malachi makes this clear in his prophecy as he recounts the Lord’s rebuke of the priestly order. Look at Malachi’s second chapter. Here God brings charge against the priests, he warns them that,
This same basic notion is what Malachi was talking about regarding the priests. He said that, if they were in reverence and were in awe of his name, that true instruction would be on their lips and they would walk with him in peace and uprightness. That is a cause and effect principle in action. Just like the curious tinkerer admires the handiwork of the watchmaker and than gives approval of the product, so too, the priest that reveres God will worship Him. It is that simple. God causes awe and his people live out worship. This was true of the priesthood of Israel and, as described by Paul, is to be true of us now. After all, 1 Peter 2:9 says we are a
In light of all of this, we must recall that the Biblical language of awe and reverence most often refers to it in the term of fear. I Samuel says in chapter 12 verse 23,
This brings me to a major issue... because if you’re paying attention to what’s going on up here, you may be thinking to yourself, “Well, I don’t fear God” or “Well, I mean... I love God, but I’m not awestruck by Him.” Pay attention! This is important! God might be talking to you!
Let me go down a bit of a sidetrack for a little bit. Do you remember your first love? Maybe your first love miraculously resulted in a happy marriage, maybe it ended in a broken heart, perhaps you look back and realize that your first love was nothing more than a childhood crush. You start out a relationship with intensity and passion. You get flabbergasted at the sight of that special someone. Your cheeks get flushed, your mind gets flustered, and you find yourself tongue-tied in conversation. You’re simply in awe of that person. In fact, it is likely that there’s scarcely anything that can budge the thought of that person from the forefront of your mind. Maybe you even save every note, doodle, or scrap from that person just because it will help you feel somehow nearer to that person when you’re apart.
But what a dreadful thing occurs when that person no longer captivates the heart. He or she doesn’t inspire the chivalry, nor the poetry of the young love. Perhaps the person even becomes less attractive somehow. Every nuance and annoyance eats at you and you’re always on edge. Then anger starts to come more quickly and sometimes it develops in to a painful apathy. What love is this? This is the very essence of the exhortation brought to the Ephesian church in Revelation 2,
This is something every believer deals with from time to time. The reason I’m sharing with you today about this is because I too recently realized that I’d been suffering immensely from a lack of awe in God! Yes... suffering. When we lose our amazement in God, when we neglect any facet of His character, we lose sight of who He is. We associate Him, practically, as a non-present and non-intrusive buddy. We decrease our worship of Him. We tailor back our prayer times because we feel like we’re just talking to the walls... no voice responding, maybe it’s not even there. We strip down our devotional readings from the Word because we call it the Word of God, but it’s just a book. Now, you may not be actually thinking those things. No! You wouldn’t dream of it! But don’t you remember what mom and dad taught you? Actions speak louder than words. You may not say that the Bible is just another book, but if you don’t revere it and seek after it in belief you deny its divinity in your action! If you don’t fear God whatsoever, why obey Him? Would you obey Him just because He’s nice? Maybe, but it won’t last for long. What stops a person from disobeying when there is no fear of punishment? It’s natural for us to just keep on pushing the boundaries. This isn’t love of God. This isn’t a true picture of the character of God. This isn’t awe... isn’t wonder... isn’t reverence of our gracious Savior.
Think about this! Really think on it. What does your life say about your belief in God?
If we realize the magnitude of the God described in these pages we WILL be fearfully in awe of Him. We will be shocked to find that He is not a God who simply coddles and cuddles, but also condemns. This isn’t something that we like to think about. We love to embrace the fatherly facet of the character of God , but we neglect the dimension of His lovingly righteous and holy judgement... and so become lax and complacent in faith. We wouldn’t want to have to actually change when we are born again! You see, we increase in factual knowledge, but don’t let it penetrate the heart and so inspire us. We think that knowledge and awe contradict one another when it is an awe-inspired knowledge that produces the desired “faith as of a child” that will open the heavenly gates. Or, most often we just don’t know God because we don’t spend any time with Him and thus have a diminished view of Him. Open your eyes and see! He who has ears let him hear!
What are you waiting for? Are you waiting to see something that will truly inspire awe in you... something that you’ll see and just know that it’s of God?
Think on this as I describe some things to you...
If you’re an adult of average weight, this is what you accomplish in 24 hours: Your heart beats 103,689 times. Your blood travels 168,000,000 miles. You breathe 23,040 times. You inhale 438 cubic feet of air. You eat 3¼ pounds of food. You drink 2.9 quarts of liquids. You lose 7/8 pound of waste. (Okay, I probably could have left that part out.) You speak 4,800 words, including some unnecessary ones. You move 750 muscles. You exercise 7,000,000 brain cells. …feel tired? To the heart that longs after God, every additional detail and bit of scientific data only increases the awe of God to a greater extent. The enormity and complexity of everything points right back to He who created and sustains all things for all time.
Even though your brain will forget more than 90 percent of what you learn during your lifetime, it may still store up as much as 10 times more information than there is in the Library of Congress, with its 17 million volumes.
We could take days and just talk about the intricacies and marvels of the human body, but I hope you are starting to get the picture. God is doing wondrous things around us every second of every day. Some things appear to be more miraculous than others. You may never see a man walk on water. You may never see the dead rise. You may never see a blind man regain sight. Yet, regardless of this, we dare not take for granted the “everyday miracles” that surround us. This would strip God of His rightfully deserved... indeed required, reverent worship.
If you ever want to see something truly awe-inspiring take a look at a newborn.
Each time I see a baby I can’t help myself... I must give thanks to God. He did a great job creating them. No doubt about it. I know that there are a number of parents out there. You know even better than I how amazing these creations are. Everyone of you were fearfully made by the One Creator God. You know, find someone today and tell him or her, “You are and amazing creation of an awesome God!”
When you slow down enough to embrace a heart of gratitude and look at this world with open eyes in order to truly see it for what it is, you will begin to see the wonder that surrounds you each and every day. The question is, what are you going to do with it? Will you ignore Him? Will you stand in awe, but let it die like a middle school crush? Or will you marvel at God and let it move you to worship in reverence of the Most Holy One? Don’t take God for granted, He’s just too awesome to miss. Allow yourself to be inspired by Him; let Him capture your heart. Renew the flame of first love.
My favorite painting is “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” by Georges Seurat. He was a French neo-impressionist painter in the late 19th century. I think I was drawn to him because he’s not your typical artist. He was distinctly scientific in his methods of producing artwork. He was a pioneer as he worked in a style broadly known as pointillism. Seurat spent two years meticulously painting tiny dots in layer after layer to obtain the coloring and effects that he so eagerly desired. Now, the amazing thing is that this painting measures 81"x120" in total. That is 6ft. 9in. by 10ft. Consisting entirely of tiny colored dots of oil paint. I studied this very painting in my text books for years. I could rattle of nearly every fact about it if necessary, but then one day I came face-to-face with this massive work on a trip to the Chicago Art Institute. But you know how you can know everything there is to know about something, but it doesn’t ever quite prepare you to encounter it? Here I am just feet away from this great work of art that I have so long admired. I could hardly move, but then I couldn’t stop moving. I got as close as I could, then moved back as far as I could. I looked at that painting from every angle I could. I was giddy. I was dumbfounded! I couldn’t believe it! Here in front of my eyes was one of the great masterworks of all-time. I could scarcely take it all in!
Have you ever experienced a moment like this? Well? Think about it. Have you? Have you ever seen something, met someone, done something that simply left you breathless? Sometimes when we are really wowed by something, it almost makes us feel like a kid again, right?
What is it that compels us to stand out in a warm spring rain when we know we ought to head inside for cover? Or maybe you’re one who relishes the opportunity to bask in the sun... or take a walk in the brisk autumn air to view the changing colors... or watch a flurry of fluffy flakes floating down from the winter sky. There are so many things can warm your heart and at the same time give you goose bumps. Much like I felt that day in the museum.
You see, each of us... we were hard-wired with a desire for the transcendent in our hearts. That is, we long for that which inspires and fills us with awe. It is in fact, quite important for us to experience awe within our lives. Now, before I go any further, I’m not saying that our lives are going to ever be spent in one awe-inspiring moment strung along to another on this side of glory, but nevertheless we must understand the role of wonder in our own life.
When we engage in the practice of esteeming God and allowing ourselves to be filled with awe by Him, we then are compelled to worship Him. The principle of cause and effect goes into play here. Have you ever had a toy, a tool, an appliance, or who knows what and you found yourself engrossed in the examination of it? Have you ever known the sort of person will take something apart and study it in such a way as to eventually be able to likely fix it and put it back together again? Take, for instance this pocket watch... As they dissect the project they explore its depths and admire the ingenuity of the inventor. Flannery O'Connor, and American author, wrote,
“A work of art is good in itself. What is good in itself glorifies God becauseWhen we are found in awe of God, the effect is worship and praise of Him. Do you see how that happens? We admire the creation and can’t help but give praise to its Creator. One listens to a song and applauds the musician. Another views a piece of art and becomes curious about the painter. Still another peers into the mechanism of a watch and marvels at the fine and intricate craftsmanship. Whether it is deliberate or not, we can not help but give recognition to the master behind the masterpiece. Admiration is the foundation of praise.
it reflects God.”
Jacob encountered God at Jabbok, he was awed by Him and then raised an altar there in worship. Moses was time and time again shown the signs and wonders of God and, in result, lived a life of worshipful devotion to him. David was consistently marveling at God’s being and his deeds, thus writing a great number of psalms and hymns of exaltation. Josiah, the boy-king of Israel, rediscovered the book of the Law of God, was struck in awe of it... it cut him to the heart, and thus renewed the covenant between God and his people. And it goes on and on... Those who encountered Jesus were frequently filled with awe. As it says in Luke 5:26, after Jesus healed a paralyzed man,
“Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said,But awe can not stand alone. Awe is only a basis for something more. Many who were awe-struck by the miracles of Jesus never let it change them and urge them into worship of him. Reverence of God should prompt us to declare the praises of the our King.
‘We have seen remarkable things today.’”
A term denoting awe that would be more commonly used in the Bible is reverence. Reverence is a proper sense of awe, respect and wonder that is inspired and, in truth, demanded by an encounter with the character and activity of God.
Reverence unto God is necessary for continued spiritual growth. Malachi makes this clear in his prophecy as he recounts the Lord’s rebuke of the priestly order. Look at Malachi’s second chapter. Here God brings charge against the priests, he warns them that,
“If (they) do not listen... and set (their) hearts to honor (His) name, (He)So, what did these guys do wrong that we can learn from? God says that he had established a covenant with Levi (the head of the lineage of priests in Israel). In verse 5 He says,
will send a curse upon (them).”
“My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, I gave them to him;The covenant required reverence and awe. The priests that God is admonishing here have neglected the practice of revering God and thus they have
this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. True
instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked
with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin.”
“turned from the way and by (their) teaching have caused many to stumble; (they)These priests were bringing defiled food and blemished animals to God as offerings... they were cheating God and blaming it on Him! This is a dreadful thing! And God will not stand for such behavior. We can’t make this same mistake because it is a terrible offense to our great God.
violated the covenant with Levi.” (v. 8)
This same basic notion is what Malachi was talking about regarding the priests. He said that, if they were in reverence and were in awe of his name, that true instruction would be on their lips and they would walk with him in peace and uprightness. That is a cause and effect principle in action. Just like the curious tinkerer admires the handiwork of the watchmaker and than gives approval of the product, so too, the priest that reveres God will worship Him. It is that simple. God causes awe and his people live out worship. This was true of the priesthood of Israel and, as described by Paul, is to be true of us now. After all, 1 Peter 2:9 says we are a
“chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God,Awe is followed by worship.
that (we) may declare the praises of him who called (us) out of darkness and
into his wonderful light.”
In light of all of this, we must recall that the Biblical language of awe and reverence most often refers to it in the term of fear. I Samuel says in chapter 12 verse 23,
“But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart;
consider what great things he has done for you.”
Fear, reverence, awe, wonder, inspiration, and so on... all are absolute necessity in our daily walk with the Lord. He who is infinitely able to give every good gift and blessing is also equally able to take them away or to bring curse. Scripture says that no one has ever seen God for to do so, he would surely die (Ex. 33:20). Now, that alone should bring a fearful wonder to a person. This is the God who brought the wonder of the Red Sea parting so the Israelites could escape their Egyptian captors on dry land, but also the God who brought the wondrous tragedy of a global flood. The God who inspired awe in the upper room after his resurrection is the one who also nullified the existence of Sodom and Gomorrah. It is not a shameful thing to fear God. It is commanded, required, and thoroughly appropriate as we live out the life of a Christian. In fact, it is distinctly wise to fear God. Proverbs 1:7 states that
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdomIf we really know God, it is impossible for us to not be in awe of Him. It is impossible for us to not fear Him. It is impossible for us to not be inspired by His deeds, His majesty, His very being.
and discipline.”
This brings me to a major issue... because if you’re paying attention to what’s going on up here, you may be thinking to yourself, “Well, I don’t fear God” or “Well, I mean... I love God, but I’m not awestruck by Him.” Pay attention! This is important! God might be talking to you!
Let me go down a bit of a sidetrack for a little bit. Do you remember your first love? Maybe your first love miraculously resulted in a happy marriage, maybe it ended in a broken heart, perhaps you look back and realize that your first love was nothing more than a childhood crush. You start out a relationship with intensity and passion. You get flabbergasted at the sight of that special someone. Your cheeks get flushed, your mind gets flustered, and you find yourself tongue-tied in conversation. You’re simply in awe of that person. In fact, it is likely that there’s scarcely anything that can budge the thought of that person from the forefront of your mind. Maybe you even save every note, doodle, or scrap from that person just because it will help you feel somehow nearer to that person when you’re apart.
But what a dreadful thing occurs when that person no longer captivates the heart. He or she doesn’t inspire the chivalry, nor the poetry of the young love. Perhaps the person even becomes less attractive somehow. Every nuance and annoyance eats at you and you’re always on edge. Then anger starts to come more quickly and sometimes it develops in to a painful apathy. What love is this? This is the very essence of the exhortation brought to the Ephesian church in Revelation 2,
“You have forsaken your first love."In essence, you’re not in awe of your lover anymore. You no longer pine after your beloved one.
This is something every believer deals with from time to time. The reason I’m sharing with you today about this is because I too recently realized that I’d been suffering immensely from a lack of awe in God! Yes... suffering. When we lose our amazement in God, when we neglect any facet of His character, we lose sight of who He is. We associate Him, practically, as a non-present and non-intrusive buddy. We decrease our worship of Him. We tailor back our prayer times because we feel like we’re just talking to the walls... no voice responding, maybe it’s not even there. We strip down our devotional readings from the Word because we call it the Word of God, but it’s just a book. Now, you may not be actually thinking those things. No! You wouldn’t dream of it! But don’t you remember what mom and dad taught you? Actions speak louder than words. You may not say that the Bible is just another book, but if you don’t revere it and seek after it in belief you deny its divinity in your action! If you don’t fear God whatsoever, why obey Him? Would you obey Him just because He’s nice? Maybe, but it won’t last for long. What stops a person from disobeying when there is no fear of punishment? It’s natural for us to just keep on pushing the boundaries. This isn’t love of God. This isn’t a true picture of the character of God. This isn’t awe... isn’t wonder... isn’t reverence of our gracious Savior.
Think about this! Really think on it. What does your life say about your belief in God?
If we realize the magnitude of the God described in these pages we WILL be fearfully in awe of Him. We will be shocked to find that He is not a God who simply coddles and cuddles, but also condemns. This isn’t something that we like to think about. We love to embrace the fatherly facet of the character of God , but we neglect the dimension of His lovingly righteous and holy judgement... and so become lax and complacent in faith. We wouldn’t want to have to actually change when we are born again! You see, we increase in factual knowledge, but don’t let it penetrate the heart and so inspire us. We think that knowledge and awe contradict one another when it is an awe-inspired knowledge that produces the desired “faith as of a child” that will open the heavenly gates. Or, most often we just don’t know God because we don’t spend any time with Him and thus have a diminished view of Him. Open your eyes and see! He who has ears let him hear!
What are you waiting for? Are you waiting to see something that will truly inspire awe in you... something that you’ll see and just know that it’s of God?
Think on this as I describe some things to you...
If you’re an adult of average weight, this is what you accomplish in 24 hours: Your heart beats 103,689 times. Your blood travels 168,000,000 miles. You breathe 23,040 times. You inhale 438 cubic feet of air. You eat 3¼ pounds of food. You drink 2.9 quarts of liquids. You lose 7/8 pound of waste. (Okay, I probably could have left that part out.) You speak 4,800 words, including some unnecessary ones. You move 750 muscles. You exercise 7,000,000 brain cells. …feel tired? To the heart that longs after God, every additional detail and bit of scientific data only increases the awe of God to a greater extent. The enormity and complexity of everything points right back to He who created and sustains all things for all time.
Even though your brain will forget more than 90 percent of what you learn during your lifetime, it may still store up as much as 10 times more information than there is in the Library of Congress, with its 17 million volumes.
We could take days and just talk about the intricacies and marvels of the human body, but I hope you are starting to get the picture. God is doing wondrous things around us every second of every day. Some things appear to be more miraculous than others. You may never see a man walk on water. You may never see the dead rise. You may never see a blind man regain sight. Yet, regardless of this, we dare not take for granted the “everyday miracles” that surround us. This would strip God of His rightfully deserved... indeed required, reverent worship.
If you ever want to see something truly awe-inspiring take a look at a newborn.
Each time I see a baby I can’t help myself... I must give thanks to God. He did a great job creating them. No doubt about it. I know that there are a number of parents out there. You know even better than I how amazing these creations are. Everyone of you were fearfully made by the One Creator God. You know, find someone today and tell him or her, “You are and amazing creation of an awesome God!”
When you slow down enough to embrace a heart of gratitude and look at this world with open eyes in order to truly see it for what it is, you will begin to see the wonder that surrounds you each and every day. The question is, what are you going to do with it? Will you ignore Him? Will you stand in awe, but let it die like a middle school crush? Or will you marvel at God and let it move you to worship in reverence of the Most Holy One? Don’t take God for granted, He’s just too awesome to miss. Allow yourself to be inspired by Him; let Him capture your heart. Renew the flame of first love.
posted by Gregg @ 8:13 PM
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