And all were astonished...

"And all were astonished by the majesty of God."
I was reading this just now and it occurred to me that all were astonished. How long has it been since You were astonished? I don't mean just surprised that God remembered you but actually, really astonished in what God has/had done for you in your life? In the gospel of Jesus Christ, according to Saint Luke in Chapter 9 and verse 43b, Doctor Luke points out that all were astonished. According to Webster the definition of astonish is:"to strike with sudden and usually great wonder or surprise."

I pose to you that in this day and age with the glitz and glamor of western culture we have little capacity to be astonished. We see different corners of the globe from the safety and security of our living rooms, viewing from our computer screen through the miracle of the internet. I say miracle because it has enabled you and I to make contact and to share thoughts and ideas and concerns. Your circle of community and mine just grew by a few million at least who may at some time in space view this blog and/or the comments you may leave. This conversation will for just a short sliver of time in God's continuum live for as long as the world wide web does. Do you find that idea astonishing? I do. I may not show my astonishment on the outside but I am astonished that what I write will live on in cyberspace because whatever is posted to the Internet never goes away. 

I leave you with this thought and that is, if we do not find ways to allow ourselves to be astonished, to be surprised, to be elated in our relationship with God then what sort of response do you believe you will express when you meet God face to face?  On one hand I expect there will be some familiarity because of the relationship I have with Him and along with that I expect to feel great levels of awe and wonder. What would help me to overcome the shock and awe will be the warmth from His eyes into mine, the smile He gives to me, the kind of smile that says,"what..you thought it would be Miami Beach?" As a gift, I would like to present Him with something that I can do for Him, offer Him my astonishment. I realize I do not have to do anything for God and I am not speaking of a payback or offering to enter Heaven. What I mean is as one friend offers another friend a precious gift, when the receiver has a face of surprise, a face of unexpected elation, the look of elation and appreciation for the giver becomes all the thank you they need. Does God need my thank you? I do not believe God needs anything, if He did then He would not be God, He would be an incomplete being the same as you and I. What I do believe is that God is love and love is God (First John) and love excites and grows with more and more love. Love unrequited is love still but do you not see and believe that love deserves love in return? I believe God deserves my love in return because of the love He has shown and constantly shows to me in my life. I cannot wow God but do I need to? I believe as my friend, Lord and Master that God would and could be surprised by the look on my face of astonishment because God does not disappoint and God does not leave any detail unattended. God will accept my face of astonishment and elation and be joy filled at my jubilation of entering into the Kingdom and for my gift to Him, He will bless me with a smile that only a parent can give to their child. I believe it is only kind and loving to prepare myself to give a look of astonishment when I see Him in all His splendor and majesty and to prepare myself I am going to practice not being so cynical, not so Not-impressed with nature and the Holy Spirit. I am going to allow myself to become more sensitive to the movements of God in my life. They are subtle and quiet and they are swirling around like a wisp of wind and it takes getting pushed over with a feather, not a 2X4 to receive what God is sharing with you or me today. If someone offers you an ice cream cone today, take it and show your enjoyment when you eat it. If someone gives a "hello," receive it and share with them a look directly into their eyes and give a smile and say, "thank you, and hello to you too!" You never know who you may be encountering, sometimes it will be angels.