I remember a trip that I took to Colorado Springs for a conference several years ago. For a Texas boy who has never lived around mountains, Colorado just amazes me. Snow capped mountains literally surrounded the auditorium in which we met, and I began to lament the fact that the conference was held indoors.
I remember walking into the lobby and being met by several friendly greeters who welcomed us warmly to the event. As they checked us in, I remembered asking them a question which, in retrospect, was the natural question for a Texas boy to ask. Looking through the window which literally framed Pike’s Peak, I asked, “Does it ever get old having a view like that?”
And her response stuck with me.
She said, “You get used to it. I don’t even see it or notice it anymore.” My response… “What?! Really??”
Remember, I live in the Texas hill country, and this was no Texas hill country. The idea that someone could develop such a familiarity with this beautiful scenery just baffled me.
How often is this our response to the Gospel? We’ve heard it. We’ve gotten used to it, and we don’t even notice it anymore. How often has familiarity replaced our awe and wonder? How often are do we find ourselves unmoved by the gospel of Christ?
How often are we like those greeters? We welcome people who are in absolute awe of the view, when we ourselves have lost the awe that we once had? How often do we see someone come to faith in Christ and respond to the gospel for the first time with beautiful joy and wonder all over their faces? We can watch as they contemplate the wonder of Christ in awe, and how often does our own response to the gospel pale in comparison?
I am reminded of Matthew 13. Jesus is teaching about the Kingdom of God through parables, and He reminds His disciples of something of which I need to remind myself.
So, to all who are followers of Christ, to every person who has seen and responded to the gospel, to everyone who knows Jesus Christ and the truth of God through His Son, Jesus has this to say to you.
But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
Matthew 13:16-17(ESV)
We are a truly blessed people! We see, we hear, we know the gospel! We know Jesus. We know the God who created the world, and we know that He loves us so much that He sent Jesus to die for us. While we were dead in our sins, Christ died for us. We know that our Savior lives and that He conquered death through His resurrection. And, we know that through His work we can know the love of God. We see God through Christ, we receive forgiveness of all our sin, we experience life abundantly, and we hope in faith in life eternally with Christ. We are a truly blessed people because we know the truth and wonder of the gospel!
Jesus reminds us, “many prophets and righteous people long to see what you see…” And yet, through His grace, we see it!
Take a moment and look at the proverbial scenery around you. Think back on the simple wonder and the joy of the gospel of Christ. And, like a Texas boy standing and gazing at the Rocky Mountains, let us gaze at the incomparable wonder of Jesus Christ.