When was the last time you were surprised? When something unexpected, or unanticipated happened in your life. Something happened recently in the Rice household took me by complete surprise.
It seems like overnight, our little 2-year-old, Matthew, turned into a complete chatterbox. It is fascinating to watch children grow. They start off as these little things that are completely helpless, and then progressively grow to be more and more independent. Whereas a few months ago, Camilla and I had to try to figure out Matthew’s needs, playing child psychologist all the time- why is he crying- dirty diaper? Hungry? Sick? Bored? Tired? Now, Matthew tells us what he wants. The problem is now getting him to stop telling us what he wants and just let us rest for a minute. He is a little dictator. But an adorable one.
I don’t know why I was surprised by this development in Matthew’s life. We’ve been there a couple of times already with our other boys, so I should’ve seen this coming. Maybe I just got stuck in the moment. When we go through days and nothing seems to change, we can get complacent and act like nothing ever will. Yet change is always occurring, all around us, and sometimes that change is major and we stop and take notice. Some changes we rejoice in, such as the healthy growth and development of a child. Some changes we lament, such as the aging process stealing away freedoms we used to enjoy. (eating tasty food, living relatively pain-free, having strength, mobility, energy, mental acuity)
As we get older, perhaps fewer and fewer things surprise us anymore. With our life experience, we begin to fall into a rhythm of life and we generally know what to expect. This can be a tragic thing. We lose the sense of awe and wonder with the world- specifically how God is at work in it- and trade it for a veteran sense of cynicism. If we expect the worst, we are rarely surprised, if nothing else for how often a negative attitude leads to self-fulfilling prophecies.
How often would you say you are surprised by God? When He does something that creates a sense of awe and wonder in you. This is a wonderful thing- as we begin to sense the supernatural power and fatherly love the Lord has for us. The longer we’ve been a Christian, the more of the Bible we know, the more likely we are to take it for granted.
This Easter season, let’s resolve to rediscover a sense of awe and wonder at God’s Word, and especially what Christ did for us on the cross. This weekend we begin a three part series on one of the most awe inspiring passages in all of scripture- Isaiah chapter 53.
I invite you to join with us this weekend as we embark on an adventure to fully explore this beautiful prophecy of Christ. Our socially distanced service is Saturday afternoon at 3:30, and our Sunday morning service is at 10:15, where you can join us online if you can’t make it in person. We also have excellent Sunday School classes at 9 for all ages.
Have a great weekend and I look forward to pursuing Christ, Community, and the Great Commission Together with you soon!
-Pastor Nathan Rice