“How frightful a thing it is when the preacher becomes too accustomed to his work, when his sense of wonder departs.” ~AW Tozer
My wife and sons are huge Pittsburgh Penguins fans. (They are a professional hockey team). I like the Penguins, but not like they do. The other night the Penguins had a 2 goal lead against the Detroit Red Wings with just a few minutes remaining in the game. When a team is behind late in the game they frequently take their goalie out of the game and put in an extra skater to try to score a goal to catch up. They strengthen their offense by compromising their defense. The Red Wings ended up scoring two goals to tie the game, and then won in overtime. What I love about hockey and about sports in general is that you never know what is going to happen. I love the unpredictability.
Sometimes I worry that too many people (pastors and congregations) are too accustomed to church and to Jesus that we no longer expect anything amazing. I am always self-evaluating and checking my pulse worried I will fall or have fallen into that trap or rut. I think it can happen to anyone. Oswald Chambers says it can happen even for the people doing amazing work on behalf of Jesus. It could happen to my friend Carrie who has been serving in Haiti for three years. Chambers says that the sympathy for the needs of the people can overwhelm the miracle of being sent by Jesus. And I believe the Christian life here in the comfort of the United States can make us lose our sense of awe and wonder of who Jesus is and the privilege (and cost) of following Him.
And this isn’t a blog about me needing affirmation from any of you telling me that I haven’t lost that sense of wonder as a pastor. And I’m not saying any of you have or anyone in my church has. Today’s blog is a reminder that Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, is unpredictable and uncontainable. And I invite you to ask yourself if you see Him that way and if your life reflects that.
*
*
*
Scott Knowlton's Blog 