Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…
“When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—the moon and the stars you set in place—what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor.” Psalm 8:3-5 (NLT)
St. Augustine of Hippo wrote—
“People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering.”
Now that’s a thought that will ruminate for a while in the cavity occasionally occupied by my brain.
Interesting, though, that such an ageless human malady as that—missing the wonder which is all around us and within us—doesn’t seem to affect our children or grandchildren, who with eyes wide open explore not only the wonders of God’s creation all around them but also the wonder of God’s creation which is who they are.
Until, dare I say, they grow older like some of us, and we’ve had a chance to throw enough cold water on their little minds and hearts of wonder to get them to start viewing the world—and missing all of God’s wonder within the world—like the rest of us older, and supposedly wiser ones do.
That’s not how the Creator intended it to be, for them or for us.
Too many of us, and all too often, wander through life drawing away from, instead of tapping into, the potential God has placed in our lives. The reasons and excuses we recite for doing that are many and seemingly justifiable on the surface, yet they are all rubbish. And all of them block the potential placed within us that when fully realized and utilized, would cause us to soar to exhilarating heights where we are sure to catch a glimpse of His smiling reflection.
As a result, far too many of us come to the end of our days never having reached our full, God-given potential. It happens. It happens all too often, and we need to stem the tide of it happening anymore.
Because in our better moments we know that is what God intended for each of us to do with the privilege and wonder of the life He created and entrusted to us. To live life to the fullest. To reach for all we can be, and to reach for the heavens. And by doing that to reach and use the full, God-given potential He has placed within each of us to be all we were created to be.
So as you travel the world and the life God has given you, don’t miss the mountains or the huge waves of the sea. And make sure to experience the long courses of the rivers, the vast compass of the ocean, and the circular motion of the stars. But while you do all of that in this journey God has set before you, don’t miss the wonder and all the potential of you.
No matter what we have done with it before to try and reach and fulfill it, the key question and choice for each of us is this—what will we do with it today and every day for the rest of our lives?
The God-created wonder and potential He has designed to be uniquely you.
The wonder and potential of His creation—that’s you and that’s me.
Don’t miss it!
In His Name—Scott
Copyright 2016. Scott L. Whitaker. All rights reserved.
