But our title concerns not
wandering but wondering. The Psalmist spent time pondering and wondering over
the marvelous universe God created (Psalm 19) and his natural body and the
depths of God’s knowledge (Psalm 139). This type of wondering is akin to the
word, marvel. The Psalmist was awe-struck by God’s majesty. There is another
meaning of the word wonder, which is the subject of this post. To question or
wonder how or why something is as it appears.
Many times, this definition of
wonder springs from the previous definition. Consider the magician’s illusion or
card trick that caused you to marvel in amazement at first sight. Did you not
question how the trick was preformed? In your wonder, you wondered how. In the
case of the magician’s performance, the result of one’s wondering investigation
many times leads to a lack of wonder in future performances because the observer
knows the secret to the illusion or trick. However, many wonderers who
investigate are all the more wondered because knowing the mechanics and seeing
them in action is all the more marvelous.
Scripture speaks of the “mystery” of
the gospel, and Paul tells us to “work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling” (Phil 2:12). Is it not then a command from God that we wonder and
wonder about our lives, the universe, and the mysteries surrounding us?
Not all
who wonder are faithless.
