“Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.” (Acts 2:43)
What does it take to impress you? Are you skeptical, sarcastic, cynical, a hard sell? Yeah, me too, sometimes. I think most of us learn to put up some kind of wall against being too easily impressed because we live in the advertising age. Too many people want us to get fired up about too many worthless things.
But people still get plenty excited about what matters to them. If you’ve ever caught any coverage of Comic-Con in San Diego, you likely saw some fanboys (and fangirls) that were “filled with awe” by photo ops with movie stars and scoops from directors about their favorite shows and films. Part of being in a group is getting excited about the same things together.
Church people get excited about God together. Of course, it would have been impressive to see the miracles performed by Jesus’ supernaturally empowered apostles in the early days. But God’s power is still at work, still on display through his Spirit in the lives of his people. His creation still boggles the mind; his sacrificial love still overwhelms the emotions.
Feelings of awe come and go. Our relationship with God through Jesus isn’t defined by emotion. But if we never feel any enthusiasm about God when we’re together with Christians – if we never get a little fanboy thrill about moving closer to him – we might be missing out on part of what it means to belong to the church.
Think: Does it bother you when a roomful of Christians “doing church” feels completely lifeless? Does it bother you when a roomful of Christians seems to be trying so hard to be excited that it feels fake? What does it mean to you to be “filled with awe” with other Christians in a way that is real and meaningful?
Pray: Ask God to help you to be able to be impressed by who he is and what he has done, is doing, and will do.
Do: Notice this week anyone in your church who seems to be genuinely filled with awe by some aspect of God or his Word.