Take some time to read Mark 6:1-6, where the people of Nazareth were first “astonished” at Jesus – but who then quickly lost their wonder. He was just one of them, they decided, and He certainly was not worthy of their astonishment. It was Jesus, then, who marveled—but He marveled at their unbelief. In essence, He was amazed that they weren’t amazed at Him.
Sometimes, we, too, lose our wonder over Jesus. Check these signs to see if that’s where you are:
- Your highest passion for Jesus is past tense rather than present tense. For most of us, the height of our passion is closer to when we first become believers. From there, our faith too often settles into the routine.
- You have to make yourself do evangelism. People filled with wonder over Jesus naturally and regularly tell others about Him. Those who no longer marvel at Him must force themselves to do it.
- Reading the Gospels no longer makes your heart leap. Remember when you devoured every word about Jesus? If that desire for His Word is no longer there, you’ve left something behind – probably your wonder.
- You don’t grieve your sin like you once did. We most ache over our sin when we see it against a holy God who sent His Son to die for us. When we take His Son for granted, our disobedience doesn’t grip us as strongly.
- You can’t say with integrity, “I long to know Jesus more.” Paul counted everything as loss compared to knowing Jesus (Phil 3:8-10). That’s the kind of heart that never settles into a mediocre relationship with Him.
- You’ve begun to see your Christianity as a restriction rather than a joy. When you get there, your faith has become a set of actions rather than a relationship with Jesus. That’s usually a sign that you’ve turned your eyes off the glory of Christ.
- Something (or someone) excites you more than Jesus does. Based on what you think about and talk about, Jesus is no longer higher than second place in your life.
- Prayer has no pull for you anymore. People who are filled with wonder over Jesus want to talk with Him. They can’t imagine a day without having a conversation with Him.
- Your salvation has become just routine. It used to be more zeal-filled, but no longer. It’s just the norm now – just what you do – because you’ve gotten over grace.
- This blog post challenges you a bit, but you choose to do nothing about it. Brief conviction that results in nothing speaks volumes; it may well indicate you don’t want to deal with your loss of Christ-wonder.
Would Jesus marvel today that you don’t marvel over Him anymore?