Wonder
Introduction
Part of me saw value and changing the topic of the sermon this morning too this. Many of you may not be able to see it so here it is on the screen. if we will talk about wonder this morning, our discussion is as much about things like the Grand Canyon as it is about things like a blade of grass.
“To us also through every star, through every blade of grass, is not a God made visible if we will open our minds and eyes?” Thomas Carlyle
Of all of Augur's interesting proverbs in proverbs chapter 30, I personally think this may be one of the fuzziest ones in the text. God's word clearly communicates everything he wants us to know, but sometimes certain texts take more work than others to come into focus. Most of us are very used to our cameras, bringing pictures into focus on their own. However, it used to be that the photographer. Had to work to bring the objects in the frame into proper focus.
This morning, we will make some conclusions by meditating on this text together. As we work to bring its meaning into focus, we will see how wonder itself brings a lot of reality into focus.
God’s creation is wonder-full.
“There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Yes, four which I do not understand: The way of an eagle in the air, The way of a serpent on a rock, The way of a ship in the midst of the sea, And the way of a man with a virgin.” Prov 30:18-19
An eagle in the air. Serpent on a rock. Ship in the ocean. A man with a woman.
This list seems a little random. Yes, some have some majesty, but a serpent on a rock. Even an eagle, for someone in the ancient east, would have been less impressive than it is for us. Americans love the eagles. Did you know that eagles don’t sound the way we think they do? They actually are very raspy and weak sounding.
What Augur is doing is marveling at the blade of grass. He acknowledging that we have something to learn by observing all of God’s creation. Yes, the heavens declare the glory of God. But so does the dirt.
Are you willing to stoop down and see it? Will you take time to marvel “at the blade of grass?”
A question you may have like I did, when studying this passage is this: ‘ok. So Augur is wondering at even some ordinary things. Why does he list those things? Is there a common thread between them?”
Well, there are many theories about what exactly that common thread is. Regardless of where we land on which is the best, we can say this: Isn’t a little mystery a little bit of the point? Perhaps God clearly explains what we must know at times, leaving what we want to know a little more unclear? Even the character of the text itself, I believe, teaches us some lessons which we will expound upon throughout the rest of the sermon.
What seems to be the common thread between the eagle, the snake, the ship, and the couple? Each seem to have a sense of movement, and defy simple explanation. There is an air of mystery in what they do. We must clarify that we are not necessarily talking about the objects themselves, but their WAYS. “They way of…”
This is especially important when we remember, that there is a fifth one. Like a credits scene in a movie or an epilogue. Pastor Thomas has actually already covered this one in a separate message because it has a distinct meaning from the list. But I believe that its meaning, which is more easily discerned is a clue to the more difficult one of our passage.
“So is the way…” Connects the fifth to the rest. If we understand what Augur means by the way of the adulterous woman, we might understand what he is referring to about the way of our four mysterious objects.
Just as the adulterous woman so carelessly wipes away the apparent consequences of her sin, so too do these things leave no trace. This seems to be the best way to explain the mystery of our four wonderful things. As the eagle, the snake, and the ship move, any evidence that they were ever there vanishes. There is a gliding, almost effortless quality.
Now, I want to be reverent here, but there is such a physical quality to the way of a man with a woman. The text is being specific here when referring to the way of a man with a woman. This is further clarified by the contrast with the adulterous woman and the imagery in the passage.
Throughout chapter 30, we see the humility of Augur. He looks upon these ordinary things in life, which to us might seem mundane, and finds lessons to be learned. There is much we can learn from him.
Don’t let explanation replace wonder.
The Scripture are replete with people using metaphor and analogy to illustrate spiritual truths. You very well may be aware of this, but that does not happen on accident!
Jesus
“Look at the birds of the air...”
Matt 6:26
“Consider the lilies of the field...”
Matt 6:28
Solomon
“Go to the ant...”
Prov 6:6
Paul Galatians and 1 Cor agriculture. (seeds, planting, watering, sowing, reaping)
It takes time to think, not just about spiritual life, but also material life. It is a good thing to slow down, and think about not very much. Do you have times when you do that?
We think that we always need to be listening to something. Podcasts, music, radio. None of them are bad. And some of them help us to think deeply and learn new things! But there ought to be some time in which each of us can slow down, stop consuming, and enjoy God’s creation.
A constant drive to fill our time with passive thinking (like listening, watching, consuming) actually results in a stunted ability to think deeply. The pursuit of knowledge can crowd out our ability to wonder.
We live in a hyper-materialistic culture that seeks to explain all of life down to the smallest particle. We have molecules, atoms, and quarks. I think something comes after that but I am not sure what it is. We want to be able to Google/AI search every illness, every condition, every question, anything and find the answer. And when “the science” gives us the answer, now there is no question. We have reached ultimate certainty on the matter and it cannot be questioned.
Beyond, the self-contradiction of the scientific method that this way of thinking presents, even more, this perspective has lost the ability to wonder at God’s creation. Our sense of certainty in explaining everything replaces wonder in our lives.
CS Lewis observed this problem decades ago:
“But you cannot go on ‘explaining away’ for ever: you will find that you have explained explanation itself away. You cannot go on ‘seeing through’ things for ever. The whole point of seeing through something is to see something through it. It is good that the window should be transparent, because the street or garden beyond it is opaque. How if you saw through the garden too? It is no use trying to ‘see through’ first principles. If you see through everything, then everything is transparent. But a wholly transparent world is an invisible world. To ‘see through’ all things is the same as not to see.” CS Lewis
My friend, it is a good thing to stop and marvel that something is just plain cool. Maybe, some investigation is appropriate. That might help us to marvel a little bit more. But sometimes, it’s good to look at your family and stop psycho-analyzing. Just admit your wife and kids are beautiful. Or sit and thank God for the beauty of your lawn, or the craftsmanship of your well-made furniture. Stop consuming, and just think.
All of it is part of God’s marvelous plan for his creation and therefore can be fully enjoyed and appreciated without fully comprehending it. Allen P. Ross (on this passage)
Why do I say that wonder is such a good thing?
Wonder induces worship.
From a Christian perspective, enjoying the common things of life point us back to God. Well, who gave us the wife and kids? The lawn? The intricate furniture? Ultimately, God did. He provided for them. He sovereignly worked in our lives to bring them to us. Wonder should resolve in a look toward God. There are four worshipful response to wonder I’d like to show you this morning.
Be humble.
Wonder causes us to be humble because we recognize that even small things are worth our time. I am not above a blade of grass and thinking about it for a few minutes. Often, I think that my time is so valuable that I should fill it with something more meaningful. On some level, this isn’t even a matter of humility, but of true understanding. Wonder actually is very meaningful, but pride often distorts reality.
Augur’s proverbs reverberate over and over again with the importance of true humility. This humility is not self-referential, but instead active. Rather than groveling, Augur uses his view of himself and of God to inform his choices and his perspective on all of life.
As he says, wonder has an aspect of admitting, I do not fully grasp this thing! It is amazing!
Here is a test-case for us: do you really understand the blade of grass? Well, I cut thousands of them all the time! (Not so much this summer) They are nothing. What is a blade of grass compared to me? For me, it is a good thing to stop, recognize I don’t know everything about this ordinary thing.
In other words, I stop being the god of my world for a moment. That is really good for us.
Enjoy creation.
It is only when we regularly see the difference between us and God that we can truly enjoy God’s creation as a blessing from him. Yes, it is an object of study. And that is part of enjoyment! But it is so much more than that.
“Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage.” Ecclesiastes 5:18
“I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.”Ecclesiastes 3:12–13
It is such a good thing to savor a meal. Every once in a while, eat the nicest meal you can while still being fiscally responsible. That might be a well-cooked chicken. And slow down. And savor it.
Play a game with your loved ones and laugh. Don’t feel the need to critically analyze what is truly funny. There is so much we can learn from doing this.
Take a walk outside and look up! Or down, past your phone. See the magnificence in the mundane!
Praise and thank God.
If we look for wonder in normal things, we have so many more opportunities to praise and thank God. It becomes a core part of our lives. If we do this with normal things, praising and thanking the Lord becomes a lot more normal. I encourage you to keep a gratitude journal. Writing is thinking, and keeping a daily journal of thanking God for things helps us to think a little more about the less obvious blessings God gives to us.
Trust and obey God’s Word.
This posture of humility leads to dependence upon God.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Prov 3:5–6
If I do not fully understand the way of the eagle, the serpent, the ship, and the couple, I know I need God’s help to know the way
Conclusion
After this sermon, I expect everyone to be out in the church lawn staring at grass. Kidding.
But I do hope you will commit to some intentionality about taking time for wonder. Take a walk outside. Spend some thoughtful, quality time with your family. Savor some good food.
Discussion Questions
Part of me saw value and changing the topic of the sermon this morning too this. Many of you may not be able to see it so here it is on the screen. if we will talk about wonder this morning, our discussion is as much about things like the Grand Canyon as it is about things like a blade of grass.
“To us also through every star, through every blade of grass, is not a God made visible if we will open our minds and eyes?” Thomas Carlyle
Of all of Augur's interesting proverbs in proverbs chapter 30, I personally think this may be one of the fuzziest ones in the text. God's word clearly communicates everything he wants us to know, but sometimes certain texts take more work than others to come into focus. Most of us are very used to our cameras, bringing pictures into focus on their own. However, it used to be that the photographer. Had to work to bring the objects in the frame into proper focus.
This morning, we will make some conclusions by meditating on this text together. As we work to bring its meaning into focus, we will see how wonder itself brings a lot of reality into focus.
God’s creation is wonder-full.
“There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Yes, four which I do not understand: The way of an eagle in the air, The way of a serpent on a rock, The way of a ship in the midst of the sea, And the way of a man with a virgin.” Prov 30:18-19
An eagle in the air. Serpent on a rock. Ship in the ocean. A man with a woman.
This list seems a little random. Yes, some have some majesty, but a serpent on a rock. Even an eagle, for someone in the ancient east, would have been less impressive than it is for us. Americans love the eagles. Did you know that eagles don’t sound the way we think they do? They actually are very raspy and weak sounding.
What Augur is doing is marveling at the blade of grass. He acknowledging that we have something to learn by observing all of God’s creation. Yes, the heavens declare the glory of God. But so does the dirt.
Are you willing to stoop down and see it? Will you take time to marvel “at the blade of grass?”
A question you may have like I did, when studying this passage is this: ‘ok. So Augur is wondering at even some ordinary things. Why does he list those things? Is there a common thread between them?”
Well, there are many theories about what exactly that common thread is. Regardless of where we land on which is the best, we can say this: Isn’t a little mystery a little bit of the point? Perhaps God clearly explains what we must know at times, leaving what we want to know a little more unclear? Even the character of the text itself, I believe, teaches us some lessons which we will expound upon throughout the rest of the sermon.
What seems to be the common thread between the eagle, the snake, the ship, and the couple? Each seem to have a sense of movement, and defy simple explanation. There is an air of mystery in what they do. We must clarify that we are not necessarily talking about the objects themselves, but their WAYS. “They way of…”
This is especially important when we remember, that there is a fifth one. Like a credits scene in a movie or an epilogue. Pastor Thomas has actually already covered this one in a separate message because it has a distinct meaning from the list. But I believe that its meaning, which is more easily discerned is a clue to the more difficult one of our passage.
“So is the way…” Connects the fifth to the rest. If we understand what Augur means by the way of the adulterous woman, we might understand what he is referring to about the way of our four mysterious objects.
Just as the adulterous woman so carelessly wipes away the apparent consequences of her sin, so too do these things leave no trace. This seems to be the best way to explain the mystery of our four wonderful things. As the eagle, the snake, and the ship move, any evidence that they were ever there vanishes. There is a gliding, almost effortless quality.
Now, I want to be reverent here, but there is such a physical quality to the way of a man with a woman. The text is being specific here when referring to the way of a man with a woman. This is further clarified by the contrast with the adulterous woman and the imagery in the passage.
Throughout chapter 30, we see the humility of Augur. He looks upon these ordinary things in life, which to us might seem mundane, and finds lessons to be learned. There is much we can learn from him.
Don’t let explanation replace wonder.
The Scripture are replete with people using metaphor and analogy to illustrate spiritual truths. You very well may be aware of this, but that does not happen on accident!
Jesus
“Look at the birds of the air...”
Matt 6:26
“Consider the lilies of the field...”
Matt 6:28
Solomon
“Go to the ant...”
Prov 6:6
Paul Galatians and 1 Cor agriculture. (seeds, planting, watering, sowing, reaping)
It takes time to think, not just about spiritual life, but also material life. It is a good thing to slow down, and think about not very much. Do you have times when you do that?
We think that we always need to be listening to something. Podcasts, music, radio. None of them are bad. And some of them help us to think deeply and learn new things! But there ought to be some time in which each of us can slow down, stop consuming, and enjoy God’s creation.
A constant drive to fill our time with passive thinking (like listening, watching, consuming) actually results in a stunted ability to think deeply. The pursuit of knowledge can crowd out our ability to wonder.
We live in a hyper-materialistic culture that seeks to explain all of life down to the smallest particle. We have molecules, atoms, and quarks. I think something comes after that but I am not sure what it is. We want to be able to Google/AI search every illness, every condition, every question, anything and find the answer. And when “the science” gives us the answer, now there is no question. We have reached ultimate certainty on the matter and it cannot be questioned.
Beyond, the self-contradiction of the scientific method that this way of thinking presents, even more, this perspective has lost the ability to wonder at God’s creation. Our sense of certainty in explaining everything replaces wonder in our lives.
CS Lewis observed this problem decades ago:
“But you cannot go on ‘explaining away’ for ever: you will find that you have explained explanation itself away. You cannot go on ‘seeing through’ things for ever. The whole point of seeing through something is to see something through it. It is good that the window should be transparent, because the street or garden beyond it is opaque. How if you saw through the garden too? It is no use trying to ‘see through’ first principles. If you see through everything, then everything is transparent. But a wholly transparent world is an invisible world. To ‘see through’ all things is the same as not to see.” CS Lewis
My friend, it is a good thing to stop and marvel that something is just plain cool. Maybe, some investigation is appropriate. That might help us to marvel a little bit more. But sometimes, it’s good to look at your family and stop psycho-analyzing. Just admit your wife and kids are beautiful. Or sit and thank God for the beauty of your lawn, or the craftsmanship of your well-made furniture. Stop consuming, and just think.
All of it is part of God’s marvelous plan for his creation and therefore can be fully enjoyed and appreciated without fully comprehending it. Allen P. Ross (on this passage)
Why do I say that wonder is such a good thing?
Wonder induces worship.
From a Christian perspective, enjoying the common things of life point us back to God. Well, who gave us the wife and kids? The lawn? The intricate furniture? Ultimately, God did. He provided for them. He sovereignly worked in our lives to bring them to us. Wonder should resolve in a look toward God. There are four worshipful response to wonder I’d like to show you this morning.
Be humble.
Wonder causes us to be humble because we recognize that even small things are worth our time. I am not above a blade of grass and thinking about it for a few minutes. Often, I think that my time is so valuable that I should fill it with something more meaningful. On some level, this isn’t even a matter of humility, but of true understanding. Wonder actually is very meaningful, but pride often distorts reality.
Augur’s proverbs reverberate over and over again with the importance of true humility. This humility is not self-referential, but instead active. Rather than groveling, Augur uses his view of himself and of God to inform his choices and his perspective on all of life.
As he says, wonder has an aspect of admitting, I do not fully grasp this thing! It is amazing!
Here is a test-case for us: do you really understand the blade of grass? Well, I cut thousands of them all the time! (Not so much this summer) They are nothing. What is a blade of grass compared to me? For me, it is a good thing to stop, recognize I don’t know everything about this ordinary thing.
In other words, I stop being the god of my world for a moment. That is really good for us.
Enjoy creation.
It is only when we regularly see the difference between us and God that we can truly enjoy God’s creation as a blessing from him. Yes, it is an object of study. And that is part of enjoyment! But it is so much more than that.
“Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage.” Ecclesiastes 5:18
“I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.”Ecclesiastes 3:12–13
It is such a good thing to savor a meal. Every once in a while, eat the nicest meal you can while still being fiscally responsible. That might be a well-cooked chicken. And slow down. And savor it.
Play a game with your loved ones and laugh. Don’t feel the need to critically analyze what is truly funny. There is so much we can learn from doing this.
Take a walk outside and look up! Or down, past your phone. See the magnificence in the mundane!
Praise and thank God.
If we look for wonder in normal things, we have so many more opportunities to praise and thank God. It becomes a core part of our lives. If we do this with normal things, praising and thanking the Lord becomes a lot more normal. I encourage you to keep a gratitude journal. Writing is thinking, and keeping a daily journal of thanking God for things helps us to think a little more about the less obvious blessings God gives to us.
Trust and obey God’s Word.
This posture of humility leads to dependence upon God.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Prov 3:5–6
If I do not fully understand the way of the eagle, the serpent, the ship, and the couple, I know I need God’s help to know the way
Conclusion
After this sermon, I expect everyone to be out in the church lawn staring at grass. Kidding.
But I do hope you will commit to some intentionality about taking time for wonder. Take a walk outside. Spend some thoughtful, quality time with your family. Savor some good food.
Discussion Questions
- What is a meal or something else you enjoy savoring?
- Let’s practice wonder by having multiple people give examples. Choose something you have seen over the past day. Describe a mysterious aspect of this object and how it is fascinating to you.
- How can these qualities in these objects reflect God’s glory?
- Why might it feel humbling for you personally to wonder at ordinary things?
- How can an underdeveloped sense of wonder go hand in hand with believing you are the god of your universe?
- Can Christians do this?
- What are some practical steps one could take to start growing in their ability to wonder?
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