AWE

“And awe came upon every soul” – Acts 2:43


I can’t tell you how utterly unimpressed my daughter was when we bought her an Xbox Kinect. Don’t get me wrong – she enjoys it, but she doesn’t think anything of the fact that she can go bowling, fishing, dancing, and racing by simply standing in front of a motion sensor in her living room.

When I was 7, I played on an Atari a few times.  Google it young people. I’m not sure I could have handled the wonder of modern video gaming back then. It would have seemed apocalyptic.  I would have been overwhelmed in AWE of an Xbox Kinect.



To my then, 7-year-old daughter, it’s just an ordinary thing you do after homework is done.

Has the same phenomenon I described happened to Christians today? Do we have so much Christian stuff, so many Christian podcasts, and so many RightNow media Bible studies that we’ve lost a sense of AWE at who God is?  We live in an amazing age for the church. We’ve got worship albums out the wazoo, Christian conferences every week and Bible Apps galore. Don’t forget the church programs for our every fancy: Wild Game Jesus dinners for men. Coffee/Tea and Christian conversation evenings for women. (Sorry about that ladies)  Young Adult this and that gatherings. Christian sports leagues for our kids.  Christian camps for high school seniors and Christian trips for senior adults. Tailored ministry events for every demographic imaginable.

NONE of this is bad. I’m a part of it all more than I’d like to admit, so hear my heart in this…

Is it possible that in the midst of our endless amount of Christian stuff we’re missing out on AWE? In quite ordinary moments do we find ourselves astonished at the beauty of the Gospel? Are our worship and prayer gatherings filled with wonder and amazement of God and His immeasurable Glory?

We’ve got cool down. We’ve got strategic down. We’ve got cultural savvy down. We’re a radical, crazy, missional, attractional and communal bunch. But are we awestruck in wonder and amazement that Christ died to save sinners…like you and me?

Here is the thing about AWE: It can’t be manufactured. Strategy, coolness, ministries, podcasts, conferences and Christian experiences all can be created … by us. We can even play the right music beds and talk with just the right emotional cadence to evoke emotion, but true AWE comes from the work of the Holy Spirit. When we wait. When we’re quiet. When we stop trying to make something happen. When we imagine. When we stop thinking about ourselves and start to muse of the ONE who is worthy of worship. In these moments a Godward awe can come upon our soul. Nothing in this world is like it.

We need more wonder and amazement. Oh God, waken our minds to the AWE of You.

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