Embracing Wonder: A 5-Week Advent Devotional From Matthew WestSample

Sunday, December 8: Wonders of His Love

As we move into the second week of Advent, consider the lengths we go to as parents to bring wonder alive for our kids—especially in the Christmas season. I know I am not alone in the crazy things I would do to make Christmastime special for my kids. So many parents go to great (and hilarious) lengths each year to find unique hiding spots for their kid’s elf. I bet you have some of your own great stories too. We love our kids so much that we will go to great lengths to bring wonder to their lives.

There is something about childlike wonder that goes deeper than just the silly things we do to make memories for our children. In case you are doubting the power of childlike wonder, let me remind you of a verse where Jesus was teaching the disciples about what it truly meant to follow Him: “Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). I think becoming like children means that we release our anxiety, hurts, and cynicism into our heavenly Father’s hands so we can embrace how much we are truly loved.

Try to think about the kind of love we have for our own children when you consider God’s love. If we take the love we have for our kids and multiply it a thousand times over, it doesn’t even come close to how much God loves each of us. Our heavenly Father launched an invasion of love that changed the history of the world, to help us find our way back home to His loving arms. The nativity story calls us home to that everlasting wonder. Christmas is the time when we are called to lean into the wonder of the God who loved us so much that He sent this baby Savior, wrapped up in the warmth of a manger, adored by his mother and father, announced by a host of angels, then visited by shepherds and wise men. I am reminded that the wonder of Christmas is that God “moved into the neighborhood” (John 1:14 MSG). He moved in to be close to us. How wonderful is that? Like little children, let us embrace the wonders of what the Father has given us: himself, God with us.

Respond: This week, as you reflect on the second week of Advent, find a way to bring a little extra wonder into your own life or the life of someone close to you. How can you celebrate this season with childlike joy?

Prayer: Father, thank you for moving heaven and earth to be with me. This Christmas, fill my heart with wonder as I reflect on all you’ve done for me.