The lights flashed, the big polls would fold down and the bells would ding. A train was coming! We would jump up and down on the back seat shouting, “A train, a train, a train!” Count the cars. Look at the shapes and letters on the side. What’s inside those cars? Where is it going? We were full of awe and wonder!
Adulthood sucks out of us the capacity for astonishment. The downgrade attitudes of “Been there, done that, seen that,” demonically pillage us of the capacity for amazement. The evil spirits whisper, “The train is boring.” Demons may even shout, “This train is an offense to the god of hurry!”
“The thief comes to kill, steal and destroy” the entrancement we find in steam coming off the soup, water ripples in the bathtub and curtains wrinkling in the breeze.
Wonder is the springboard into worship. We live in stark poverty without it. Who will save us and restore the wonder? The answer comes from Isaiah 11:6; “… a little child will lead them.”
Only a child can rescue us! Jesus, of course, was never plundered of His wonderment. Even as an adult He was able to be fascinated by the birds and flowering grass. He warned adults we would be hopelessly lost without child-likeness.
The prescription is to find a child to teach us the amazing world of flashlights in dark bedrooms, the enchanting fragrances of spices in the cupboard and the way a spider weaves a web. These are things every adult should learn! With remedial help we can recover wonderment.
Look! A train, a train, a train!
Steven C Johnson
https://landingstripenterprises.com/
