Wonder

“Never have a wonder taken for granted.” – H. P. Lovecraft

It seems to me that God would say the same thing to us about the wonders He sends, from the miracle of each breath to the healing of the sick to the unexplainable word of knowledge. But it’s so, so easy to dial into the routine and miss the radical. It’s so, so easy to give people credit for God’s work, and even easier to allow them to claim it unchallenged. After all, who wants to make a scene?

Sometimes, we even proudly strut our lack of childlike wonder. “Oh, yeah, worship was alright this morning. Let’s go to lunch.” “Anybody saved today? Just one...“Any miracles today? Nah, just a few healings.” (see Mark 6:5-6 for when this happened even in Jesus’ ministry)

Wonder is a fragile thing; like addicts, we swiftly gain a tolerance for miracles. The novelty pales after a repetition or two, and passes on to boredom and ignorance while the wonders continue. And of course we cry out for miraculous intervention while surrounded by the very thing we crave. Then when a new work emerges, wonder of wonders! God is in the house!

Meanwhile, God speaks in a still, small voice, from perhaps the unlikeliest of people, a long-dead horror writer, a master of the macabre: “Never have a wonder taken for granted.”

Maybe we could start now. You want a miracle? Inhale. The only thing that separates you from a drooling idiot is a tiny little blood clot in your brain the size of the pencil point. Life is good, life is miraculous, and every day is an opportunity to share the wonder.
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