(This reflection is one of the short chapters excerpted from a larger project I’m currently writing on the multifaceted beauty of the Gospel)
The Source
God is the God of wonder. “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable” (Ps. 145:3). From the vastness of galaxies to the intricacy of a flower petal, all his works are awesome. Within the Trinity, the Father, Son, and Spirit eternally delight in one another’s glory, a fountain of inexhaustible fascination. Flowing out from his personal magnificence, God created a world designed to stir our amazement and lift our gaze back to him. Every true spark of fascination—whether in a starry sky, a new discovery, a soaring melody, or an act of sacrificial love—is a breadcrumb leading back to the infinitely awesome God. Wonder is the joyful astonishment of seeing God’s overwhelming greatness displayed, whether in creation, redemption, or his own character. To know him is to be caught up in wonder without end, our hearts and minds continually expanded by his glory.
The Loss
But sin wearies us. We turned from the Giver to his gifts, and both grew dull in our hearts. Eyes meant to behold glory now glaze with boredom. The familiar grows dull, the beautiful unnoticed, the extraordinary dismissed. Our capacity for true wonder corrodes, until nothing amazes us. Instead of hearts enlarged by God’s infinite glory, our souls shrivel. We look out at a creation singing of its Maker’s glory, yet our hearts barely stir. Sin does not only blind us; it flattens reality, draining the world of its God-given depth and magnificence. Sin evacuates our sense of awe and fills us with a bitter emptiness.
Plagued by internal emptiness, we frantically chase entertainment. Modern life drowns us in endless distractions and escapes, yet we are still more bored than ever. To continually escape from our mental restlessness, we settle for whatever can merely keep our attention. But our minds and hearts were not made to be captured; they were made to be captivated. We mistake stimulation for awe, amusement for amazement. And the more we consume, the less we are satisfied. We were made to feast our minds on the infinite God, yet we gorge ourselves on the finite.
When we rightly trace the joy of things like stories, art, music, and recreation back to their Creator, they awaken true wonder and enlarge our hearts. But when we attempt to enjoy them without him, they shrink into cheap distractions that shrivel the soul. Eventually, the very gifts meant to point us higher serve to deepen our despair. Misused and over-consumed, they crush our capacity for wonder until even beauty itself feels dull. Without God as our aim, every pursuit of wonder eventually folds back into boredom.
The Consequence
The ultimate consequence of sin must not only be misery but soul-deadening monotony. Hell is an existence completely removed from the glory of God, leaving nothing to stir the heart, nothing to fascinate, nothing to relieve. It must mean the endless stagnation of a soul stuck in sin’s misery. To reject the God of wonders is to be sealed in your own inner vacancy, an eternity full of emptiness.
The Substitution
But God, in his amazing grace, sent his Son. Jesus is “the radiance of the glory of God” (Heb. 1:3), true wonder in human form. Throughout his earthly ministry, crowds marveled at his words and works, but at the cross, the spectacle of wonder reached its peak. The world looked on in mockery, but heaven saw glory: the infinite God humbling himself unto death for sinners. What could be more astonishing than the Creator bearing the curse for his creation? On the cross, Jesus took on our dullness, our blindness, and the deadness of our hearts, so that we could be awakened to true wonder again through the eyes of faith. Through the life and death of Jesus Christ, infinite wonder is bottled up into a form we can see and comprehend, and this very wonder is the salvation of our souls.
The Resurrection
On the third day, Jesus rose again, and the fullness of wonder flooded into the world. The resurrection is the greatest surprise of history: the dead rising, despair overturned, life bursting from the grave. The disciples who thought all hope was lost were overcome with astonishment and joy. In the risen Christ, God’s glory shines brighter than ever, and awe is restored to its rightful place at the center of human life.
The Transformation
Through faith, the Spirit opens our eyes to see again. No longer spiritually blind, we begin to notice the fingerprints of God in everything around us. Ordinary life becomes extraordinary: a meal, a sunrise, a conversation, a hymn—all become windows into infinite glory. The Gospel enlarges our souls so that even small things can awaken wonder. Faith increasingly restores childlike fascination, teaching us to rejoice in every detail of life as from him, through him, and to him (Rom. 11:36). The Spirit keeps us from shrinking back into boredom and trains us to live awake. The God whose glory fills all in all has filled us with his Spirit and daily invites us to know him. A moment can never be truly empty when we rightly understand the fullness of God.
The Consummation
One day, Christ will return, and wonder will never end. “The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Hab. 2:14). On the final day, Jesus will come “to be marveled at among all who have believed” (2 Thess. 1:10). We will see him as he truly is (1 John 3:2), and every glimpse will take our breath away. Eternity will not be monotonous; it will be the eternal adventure of knowing and rejoicing in the infinite God. Every moment will be fresh, every sight astonishing, every joy new. The song of heaven will never grow old, because God himself is inexhaustible in glory. The ache of boredom will be gone forever, swallowed up in endless fascination.
The Call
The Gospel is the call to awaken from our deadness and step into wonder. We were made for God’s glory. Are you continually numbing yourself with shallow entertainment, chasing thrills that fade? Or are you fixing your eyes on Christ and trusting in him alone, the One who makes even the simplest moments blaze with glory? Is your entertainment used as an escape from reality or as a powerful tool to dive deeper into reality as it really is? Only in Christ can you truly exchange death for life, monotony for marvel, boredom for awe.
The Application
The Good News of wonder reawakens how we see and live today:
- When life feels dull: Remember that the Spirit can open your eyes to see God’s extraordinary glory in ordinary things.
- When you are tempted to chase shallow thrills: Remember that entertainment without God shrinks the soul, but Christ enlarges it.
- When boredom creeps in: Preach to yourself that you were made for endless fascination in him. And his glory is inexhaustible.
Reflection Questions
- Where do you most feel the ache of boredom or monotony in your life?
- What forms of entertainment or distraction do you run to that never satisfy?
- How would your days change if you viewed every moment as a window into God’s wonder?
In Christ, my boredom is swallowed up in awe, and I am awakened to endless wonder in God.
God-centered Living 
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