In a delightful, well-written essay entitled "Wonder Beyond Measure" (I found a slightly different version of this essay available online at https://orionmagazine.org/article/a-case-for-wonder/ -- a beautiful essay-- even if you don't read through the whole thing, at least read the first several paragraphs!), environmental science professor Christopher Norment describes an experience during a class field survey with a song sparrow nest containing an egg and two new hatchlings. He goes on to argue that although it cannot be captured in learning objectives or measured by tests, the capacity for wonder is an essential ingredient of life. It's a beautiful piece and I couldn't agree more.
But let us not stop there. Wonder is fulfilled in worship. Worship connects us with our Creator. This is what we were made for. Recognizing the hand of God in the beauty and mystery of life closes the loop. Yes, we can identify, classify, quantify,* but at the end of the day our ultimate need is to celebrate, to sing His praise; to come face to face with the living God. Wonder is a good step down that path.
*I also enjoy identifying, classifying and quantifying. I was explaining to my son yesterday that the difference between plains garter snakes and eastern garter snakes was which scale rows their stripes were on, and he asked, "Dad, who does that? Who counts scales on snakes?!"
