WONDER – It seems to have two different meanings.  One is awe; the other is curiosity, even skepticism.  “Oh, the wonder of it all!”  “Hmmm, I wonder if that's really true?”  One is an exclamation, the other a question.

We live life in the middle of the exclamation and the question marks.  When we were born someone exclaimed, “What a wonderful little baby!”  Later the affirmation probably changed to the question, “I wonder if s/he'll will ever turn out right?” 

I wonder how is life going for you right now?  Is it an exclamation of awe, or a question of survival?

The Psalms give us a clue about living life as an exclamation mark.  They are filled with references to the wonderful works of God, in creation, in His mighty saving acts and in His revelation found in the Law, Prophets and Writings of the Hebrew Old Testament.  To recognize God is to feel the need to express wonder.

The Gospels tell of the personification of God's wonderful love in Jesus of Nazareth.  People were awestruck by His teachings, miracles and His grace.  They had never encountered a man like Jesus and responded either with an exclamation of hate, “Crucify Him!” or praise, “Truly this man is the Son of God!”

The Epistles point us towards the future when we will observe “signs and wonders” that will mark the end of this present dark age, and the ushering in of the “Age to Come.”  Then the entire world will be filled with wonder at the appearing of the Son of Man.  “Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!”

How can we live our lives in such a way that they are filled with praise, adoration and anticipation of what God will do? 

By living in the question!  Rather than try to escape the things that cause us to question God, we need to learn to embrace the questions we have about God, our lives and the future.  In some of the quiet moments when ultimate questions bubble to the surface, or when we feel that irritatingly nagging question that keeps returning to the corners of our minds, we must be willing to live in the question.  In spite of fear to ask the “Why is this happening to me?” or “How long Oh Lord?” or “When will I understand what's going on?” kind of questions, we are invited by a loving Holy Spirit to address Him with the very questions that question our existence and basic reason for living.  “Why am I here?”  “I wonder how all of this is going to turn out?”

The thing that both the exclamation and question mark have in common is the period at the base of both.  It is a way of saying that while life has its bookends of “!” and “?” the underlying denominator is living in the present with the period – that recognition of time here and now.  It means focusing on the relationship Christ gives us to live in the immediate, despite the exhilaration of the exclamations or the despair and confusion of the questions that characterize the ups and downs of life.

Job said after his encounter with the Living God, “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.” [Job 42:3b]  Jesus told His disciples, “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.  But when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.” [John 16:12-13a]

Despite our having to living wondering, we are given the assurance that one day we will understand it all.  And when that time comes we will be filled with wonder.  So take the period of time we now have.  Ponder the questions life raises.  But be prepared for the experience of glory that will make our exclamations of wonder something that will require an eternity to express!!!!!!