Quick to Gasp, Swift to Ooh, and Eager to Aah

Clairesy and Cap'n in awe of the rain coming down.

Because cameras are everywhere and computer animation is able to create ever more outlandish worlds, we say with  Solomon, "there is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Seemingly, everything we could see, everything that could surprise, is already behind us. Unfortunately, this cynical attitude also infects our reading of Scripture. We no longer express wonder at the God who has brought the universe into existence or split seas in two. We've heard those things before--and they no longer inspire our awe.

That's not the case with children. They are built for wonder. They are fresh. Their eyes are new. They have not only not seen everything; they have seen virtually nothing at all. Better still, they know how little they are. We look at the stars God made and calls by name (Psalm 147:4) and see balls of burning gases. Our children, uninfected with such modern arrogance, see them for what they are--God's grand fireworks display--and their eyes are filled with appreciation and wonder. We adults look at a butterfly and ponder the biology of its transformation from a caterpillar and consider the mechanics of its flight. Children see the beauty of a butterfly's colors and feel the gravity-defying lightness of its gosamer wings. Children are quick to gasp, swift to ooh, and eager to aah. They see the world for what it is--a dance, not a machine.
~R.C. Sproul, Jr.
The Call to Wonder