“And many who heard Him were amazed.” (Mark 6:2 NIV)
We all start out amazed and in love. The question is, can we stay that way? Can we walk with Jesus a good, long while (forty or fifty years) and stay amazed at His teaching, His miracles, His presence and His promises?
It seems that most marriages start out in amazement but trend toward mediocrity. We meet someone, we’re amazed. We fall in love and get married and a few short years later, amazement is replaced by mutual affection. If we aren’t careful, this too can fade, dissolve into mere tolerance, or reverse course altogether and become annoyance and disdain.
I think it’s essential that we stay amazed with Jesus. If we aren’t amazed, we aren’t truly seeing Him as Messiah and King. We’re missing His supernatural qualities of soeveriegnty and power and presence. If He isn’t still amazing, we’ve dulled Him down to a safer, more manageable version of us. And when that happens, our adoration fades, our allegiance weakens and our hope of heaven flickers.
Are we still amazed by Jesus? Do His words and actions still thrill our hearts? We look at His followers; the crowd grows cold, eventually many of them turn against Him, even cry out for His destruction.
Stay amazed, my friends. Immerse yourself in the Word and remind yourself of Who He is. Read of His miracles and stand in the crowd watching. Recall His fantastic intervention in your own story and stay amazed.
“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14 NIV)
Lord, forgive us for the ways in which we’ve lost amazement. Thank You for this verse that catches our attention again. May we stay amazed by You continually. Your life, Your sacrifice, Your forgiveness, Your story intersecting and transforming our own. We are so grateful for the wonderment that is You. Thank You for Your power and love exploding in our lives. Amen.